Farewell 2012

I must say, I'm not really all that sad to see 2012 go.  While it wasn't a horrible, no good, rotten year like 2007, it was by far not an easy one either.  Overall, there has been more good than bad, but the bad has left a toll.

On the plus side, my boy-o is healthy and growing like a weed.  He's slowly getting over his fear of the four-footed and furry as well as engaging others in play.  He has made some pretty amazing leaps this year and I can't quite catch my breath with how much he's changing, and yet, how much he's the same as ever.  All I know is that I love that little boy (he's definitely not a baby any more!) more than I can put into words.

Gak has had a fairly good year over all.  Sure, work's a hassle and has given him some issues throughout the year, but nothing too out of the ordinary.  His health has been good, which is always a blessing.

Me, I've had my fair share of challenges this year, and not all of them the good kind.  I started the year battling strep twice in the span of about a month.  And well, I came down with it again Christmas night.  (It's amazing what a few days of penicillin will do, I feel 100% better.  Then again, it wasn't as bad a case as some I've had in the past...)  Then I spent all spring in a brain fog and so exhausted I was fighting like mad not to fall asleep at work and the chills at night.  I managed to get some relief from that and, finally, in the last month or so I've been able to get back to some form of physical activity that hasn't sent me to exhaustion for days after the fact.  I still battle chills on just about a daily basis and my performance at work has been impacted (at least in my eyes) quite a bit.  I think my energy levels are about where they used to be; the thought of going to the playground or doing anything other the collapsing on the couch after work doesn't bring me nearly to tears anymore. (Trust me, having as active a boy as Boo and all summer not be able to go on rides with him or actually play with him at the playground was enough to all but bring me to tears of frustration on so many occasions.)

Work has had its own challenges throughout the year.  A lot of them good and interesting, but all of them compounded by the brain fog and exhaustion.  Several changes have been made and 2013 is looking like it'll be interesting.  Hopefully all will go well, but I'm sure there'll be bumps in the road.  At least, for now, I feel like I have the energy to tackle them.

My emotional health has been strongly tied to my physical health this year.  While I would not say that I've been fighting true depression, there has been a lot of frustration, angst, fear and anger tied to my physical health or lack there of.  To say I've been on rocky emotional ground would pretty much sum it up.  I'm just thankful that Gak, while he may not understand, can usually accept that I'm sometimes a bit flakier than others...

All this mental and physical woe has also let me easily slip back into being lazy (well, I didn't have a lot of choice there for a while if I wanted to even think about being able to get out of bed the next day....) and over eating. I've found 25 or so of the pounds that I'd left along the side of the pool or the road in the last few years.  I'm not happy with that fact, not for the number on the scale (by far not the worst) but because of how I physically feel carrying the extra around again.  And not really from carrying the extra, but from the way my old eating habits are making me feel.  They're making me feel much worse than I really am I think.  I'm not making healthy choices and it just "feels" icky so much of the time.  This is in my control and something I can work on in the coming year.

I also can't seem to find my little point-n-shoot camera.  It's been bugging me off and on and I know if I would just clean up my damn mess, I'd find it.  Or at least prove once and for all that it's not in the apartment.  I'm actually cameraless right now.  I had to return Dad's DSLR at Thanksgiving.  It's OK though, as I wasn't using it as much in the fall.

Which brings me to the other big down of the year.  Dad and his health.  Christmas day was not a good day for him.  He was barely able to make it out of bed and mentally it was just not good.  It breaks my heart, and I can only imagine the heartache that Mom goes through on a daily basis.  And there's not much I can do for her, other than let her come play with Boo on Mondays as a break.  And remind her I'm only a phone call away, any day, any time.

But, like I said, there have been good things too.  I've managed to crochet at least 30 if not 40 different projects this year.  Some as simple as a tiny little stuffed kitty for a friend, some as big as an awesome (and well loved) afghan for friends who more than deserve it.  And hats, I've made lots and lots of hats this year, most of which have been donated to the Vet's hospital down the road.  I have a great, and huge, group of girls in my Girl Scout troop this year.  I have lots of friends around me who care about me and help me out whenever and however they can, and who I do the same for.  Actually, they're not just friends, they're my family and my clan.  The relationships all get a little fuzzy and are hard to follow, even when you're living it, but we all love each other and work together to make this thing called life a better place.

So, here's to the end of a rough year and hopefully 2013 will be a bit smoother sailing.
My goals for 2013 are simple.
1. Get back on track with my eating and my activity.  Make sure to track every bite at least 3 days a week and stick to a 3 or 4 day a week schedule of activity.
2. Continue to blog and keep my window to the world open.  I hope to blog at least twice a week, preferably 3 to 4 times a week.
3. Continue to love my family with all my heart and soul.  I think this'll be the easiest one to do.

So, on that note, I wish you all peace, health and happiness.  May the good outweigh the bad and there always be a silver lining to the touches of gray.

Photo A Day, June

I have lots and lots to write about this weekend.  But... as if I wasn't busy enough already, I've decided to play along with FatMumSlim's Photo A Day challenge.  I kinda stumbled across it when blog hopping the other day.  Feeling the need for a little inspiration and maybe a little bit of a challenge to shoot different things, I decided I might as well play along.  So, here we are on day 4.

I've got to keep this a little short, since I'm at work, but hopefully I'll have at least a little fun post every day, or maybe just a summary once a week.  I'm not sure how it'll pan out.

Without further ado...

Friday, June 1st was Morning:
I didn't decide to do this until I saw something about it at work.  So, I didn't get the morning picture I really wanted, my birthday boy sleeping in his nest.  So, you get a morning picture of his bicycle (don't mind the mess in the back of the truck...).

Saturday, June 2nd was Empty:
I was so busy most of the day that I kept forgetting to take any pictures that might fill this.  I could have gotten empty cupcake wrappers from his party, or empty dishes or all kinds of other things.  This is party related though, as this is the empty container of chocolate sprinkles we used to decorate the cupcakes I made for Boo's bowling party with his friends.  Both the bowling and the cupcakes were a hit.

Sunday, June 3rd was On Your Plate:
I kept forgetting to take pictures of my food, or any food for that matter.  So, before bed I snapped this one of our calendar in the kitchen.  It's not fully up to date.  But, even with missing some things, it still looks pretty full at the moment.  So, yes, we've got a lot on our plate.

Monday, June 4th is Close-up:
I had fun with this.  I saw my koosh ball sitting on my desk this morning and I just knew I had to play with the macro setting on my camera.  I like it when I can play around with this setting and actually get it to do what I want.  I'm really quite happy with the very short depth of field on this one and the nice, tight, focus.  Of course, I was wishing both yesterday at the air show and today playing around that I had a good DSLR.... I love my point-n-shoot, but I miss my SLR (and many days my film) camera... so much more versatile than this cute little pocket camera.  (This picture looks really cool full screen...)

So, peace to all and may you find something fun to shoot and an interesting challenge or two along the way.

Angry

I was driving home tonight and I realized I'd been frowning all day.  Now anyone who knows me, knows that this isn't like me.  Sure, I look serious quite a bit, but I usually find something to smile about or at the very least I'm not frowning.  Today I was downright scowling.

And I couldn't pin it on any one thing.

I'm tired.  I feel like I've been going non-stop for months now.  I had an "easy" day yesterday with no actual real physical activity.  I didn't ride my bike, or go for a walk, or find an exercise video "On Demand".  We went shopping at the grocery store and ran to Target and I made sure to wander a bit more than I really needed to, but nothing that most people would qualify as capitol "A" Activity!.

I need a vacation and I'm not going to get one.  I've got a camping trip planned for the first weekend in May, but that's with my Girls and we don't have everything planned (by half) and since I'm a leader it's not exactly like I can take off mentally, these extra girls are my responsibility.  And I'll still have Boo with me.  And he's almost 4, which should be enough to get all parents and anyone with kids in their lives nodding.

Boo's a pretty easy going kiddo but he's hitting a growth spurt and wanting to press his independence but still insists on being clingy and whiny, especially when he's tired (which is a lot right now) and when he doesn't get his way, or thinks he won't get his way.  He's been so very, very good at pushing buttons.  It's a good thing he's cute, and such a good kid most days, otherwise there have been several moments where I've (and Gak's) had to just walk away... or send a boy to his room for his own good.

(On a positive note, we're at about 10 days in a row totally accident free.  6 more and he earns his lightsaber and we're ditching the diaper pail for good!  Oh, that includes overnight... not a requirement for a sticker, but I'm not telling him that!)

So, tonight I'm already grumpy and grousy because I didn't actually accomplish anything at work today despite spending most of the day connected to a customer's site.  All I did was get to a point where I've got half the development team scratching their heads going "huh??" when I show them what's going on.  Oh, and then there's the other site that's been a royal pain for a few weeks because it intermittently stops working, but not really... yeah.

We go to BJ's to pick up a few things for Zoe's birthday party Saturday (I told Kat I'd bring juice boxes and water).  Thankfully Boo is willing to ride in the cart so I can at least keep him from touching and poking at and manhandling EVERYTHING that's within a 6' radius of his current location.  But, he's being a bit on the loud side (but not screeching, I'm so thankful that he doesn't screech) and he's  being obnoxious with Trey and all but throwing him out of the cart.  And then we go to check out.  I'd moved some money around between the checking and savings, since I thought there was a bit to spare in the checking that I wouldn't need, completely forgetting the local taxes hadn't cleared this morning.  (Yes, I waited until the last minute to pay those...)  Well, they cleared between the time I checked the balance this morning and the time I went to check out... so.... we went back through the store and put everything back except the juice, the water and the squeezy apple/strawberry sauce that I promised Boo he could have.  (It is 100% fruit, no added sugar and may be more than the normal single serve cups but is much more mess free and was much cheaper than I could get it at the grocery store... win all around really...) Yeah, that was fun.  I'll pick up the rest of the stuff later.

So, I'm already fuming that I'm the worst person I know to handle money.  I know I've ranted about it before.  Thanks to stupid decision making on my part I'm paying $500/month more than I need to in bills.... and will be for at least another 18-36 months.  I'm angry and pissed and tired about the whole deal.  I really wish I could afford to just sign my check over to someone, they give me a card with the grocery money, a different card with the gas money and write the daycare and other checks and maybe $20/month fun money.  Then I might not be so angry about the whole money thing.

And then I start to think about the truck.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Durango.  But she's 10+ years old, has over 130k miles on her and has several little quarks that aren't big problems but I really need to fix.  And somehow without paying attention (yet again) I've managed to spend most of either the vacation money or the truck money and the savings are looking leaner than I want them to.  And the truck needs to be inspected by the end of June.  So, more anger and frustration.  Can I tell you how much that for once in my life I want to be able to go into a car dealership of my choosing and tell them what I want, have them order it for me and have payments I can manage and not feel like I had to compromise on anything?  Hell, just the thought of owning a newer car, let alone a new car is something out of my reach.

So, while all of this grumpyness is going on in my head, I'm making dinner.  (Which I didn't ruin, not by a long shot!)  Well, it was a dinner that required several pots/pans and most of the stove top.  Well, only 3 out of 4 burners, but my two small pots... I only own 3...  Boo wanted spaghetti for dinner.  I didn't have any leftovers for him.  I didn't have room on the stove (or pot of an appropriate size) available.  So, I tell him he can either have elbows and "shaky cheese" or mac-n-cheese, but not spaghetti.  Or he could have what Gak and I were having (chicken fried, lightened up a bit, gravy and mashed potatoes... the potatoes were taking forever and tying up the spaghetti pot...).  Well, he looses it and melts down.  To make a long, frustrating story short (too late!) it was a long and frustrating dinner and the boy-o didn't get any dinner and got sent to bed early.
He did calm down by the time I was done cleaning up the kitchen, so I red him a book (of my choice) and took him a half glass of milk.  I also told him no coming out of his room (unless to potty) or else no Muppets this week.  We've been having problems with him coming out of his room every 5 minutes (when he's drop dead tired, you can see it in his face and hear it in his voice) for this, that or the other thing and not actually going to sleep.  Sorry buster, I love you.  I understand you want and need me.  I want and need you to go to sleep, as does your body.  And I need my few minutes of "me" time that I carve out between 8 and 9:00.  (Not to mention try and get some adult conversation in with my wonderful and loving husband, and hopefully not have it be job or kid related...)

So, today I'm angry.  I'm angry at myself for a myriad of things ranging from work performance, money skills, dealing with the stress of an almost-four-year-old-boy badly to the fact that I'm grumpy.  (Yes, vicious circle that...)  I'm trying not to be angry with a boy-child for being almost four and being my son and everything that goes with it.  I'm trying not to be angry about the fact that I'm so freaking busy and that I feel like I'm not getting much help with anything (when in reality I am...).  I'm angry because the cost of gas, and everything else, keeps going up and I got a lousy 1.3% raise this year and none last year and they're finally taking the right local taxes out of my check so I'm actually not seeing any increase in take-home pay.  I'm just fed up and grumpy and trying to stay out of everyone's way.
It's only partially working.

I'm signing off to go take a shower, curl up with a book and hope that tomorrow won't be so gray outside and my mood won't be so black inside.

Peace to all and may anger not overwhelm your better sense.

Brain Goo

I don't seem to be doing a very good job of updating lately.  It could be because work's been pretty busy.  It could be that I've been sick.  It could be that I've been pretty busy outside of work.  It could be that I've been pretty darn tired in general.

Or, it could be that I just can't figure out what I want to write about.  I know there are all kinds of things going on that I can and probably should talk about.  There are several things that are going on that I'm not going to talk about here because it is more or less airing things that are private and wouldn't do anyone any good.

Overall things are about status quo around here.  I was sick last week thanks to Boo bringing strep home from school.  Nope, he didn't get sick.  There was a kid there who had strep, so I'm guessing that's where I came in contact with it directly or not.  I'm not happy about that... I seem to be a little more susceptible to strep than the average person.  So not looking forward to Boo bringing this home more often...

Gak's had a rough two weeks at work thanks to computer and network issues.  I'm just staying out of the way where that's concerned.

I had a customer come visit the office on Thursday.  It went well and we got some good work done that was much easier in person as opposed to over the phone and email and getting nowhere.

Anyhow, that's about where things stand.  Becca headed back to California on Thursday.  Mom's doing well.  We're all doing well.
I'm tired and could use a vacation, or at the very least a nap.  Anyhow, I've got to keep on keeping on for now.

Peace to all and have a good evening.

New Year!

Well, it's a new year and hopefully it'll be a good one.
I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to write, so I thought I'd just start writing and see where it takes me.
The picture at the top here is one of the ones my friend Steve sent me this week.  He took this back in November; it's a full moon over Kabul.  Yep, Kabul, Afghanistan.  He sent out several pictures from his tour so far.  It's amazing how beautiful the place can be, and how dangerous and not just because there is a war going on.
My friend Michelle has spent several months over there off and on since this summer.  One "comforting" fact is that all snakes in Afghanistan are venomous.  Oh, and you'd better check the bath house for snake and insect visitors before using.... just ask the guy who ended up streaking across the compound because he found the snake that was hiding in the shower room after he'd already stripped (and used his clothes to cover/distract the snake so he could escape...).  Yeah, fun, fun fun!

Speaking of Michelle, we had a nice visit with her over New Year's.  She was originally going to come up New Year's Eve and then go home Monday the 2nd.  Originally she wasn't going to have to head overseas anywhere until the middle to end of January.
We all know how schedules can change.
Instead of heading out at the end of the month, she was to get on a plane the evening of the 2nd and head over to Pakistan for a few weeks.  Yep, Pakistan.
So, she came up New Year's Eve and we ran a few errands, had some dinner and watched some movies until midnight.  I should say, Boo, Michelle and I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" and then Michelle and I watched "Princess Bride" until it was midnight.  (I also crocheted an entire scarf to go with my coat through the two movies...)  Gak crashed and crashed hard early because he had a killer sinus headache and the meds he took (plus the very long, hard hours he'd been working and no sleep the night before) knocked him out cold.  Yep, I actually stayed up later than my hubby... and by several hours!
Anyhow, it was a nice relaxing evening at home.  And can I tell you how much I've missed the last few New Year's Eves without Michelle?  For about 5 or 6 years there we would alternate going down to MD or up to PA for New Year's Eve.  It had become a tradition.
Anyhow, Sunday morning (the first) we get moving and go out to breakfast.  After we've gotten back and cleaned up (we just got dressed and went since it was both a Sunday and a holiday, so who knew how crowded the diner would be...) and fiddled with Michelle's computer a bit she asks what Mom's up to.  She said she really wanted to see Mom if possible.
So, I call up Mom and we arrange to meet at Panara Bread near her house in about an hour.  Well, of course we don't get moving right away.  And then when we stop for gas before getting on the highway Michelle locked her keys in the car, but had luckily popped the trunk instead of the gas tank and we were able to get in through the back seat to unlock the door.  We had an enjoyable lunch together and just caught up.  It would have been too much for Dad to go over to the house.  But, of course he said to Mom that he wished we'd gone to pick her up as she was leaving.  So, Michelle headed back down to Virginia to finish with the laundry and the packing and all that jazz and Boo, Gak and I follow Amma back to the house and hang out with Dad for a bit.

Boo was getting a bit tired, so we made a hasty exit.  We went over to the computer store (that we'd been to the day before) to exchange some RAM that Gak bought because he picked up DDR3 instead of the DDR2 that he needed.  (I still need to install it for him, it's the only thing he doesn't like doing on his computer...)

So, that was the start to our year.  Michelle made it safe and sound back to VA.  We had a good afternoon with both Mom and Dad.  Although, the good days with Dad are getting fewer and shorter.  I will treasure the moments that we get.

Other than that, it's the normal stuff around here.  Back to a "normal" work schedule.  Need to get back to a "normal" swim schedule but the beeper call I had Monday night prevented that, and lack of motivation Friday didn't help either.  I'm kinda glad to be back to a normal work schedule, but I enjoyed last week so very much.

I think this is where I'll wrap it up for now.  No, I haven't uploaded any of the photos to Flickr yet.  I'm sorry.  I'm going to go play with yarn now.

Peace to all and may your holidays be good and your friends safe.

Ebeneezer vs. Bob

Today I was fiddling around looking at a few things and someone posted about how depriving herself of something makes her want it even more to the point that when she does "give in" she goes totally overboard.  This could be with food, specific shopping things or even going online to play games.  It all can lead to the same thing, a huge binge.  She vowed to treat herself to a few holiday treats and not feel guilty about it in the slightest.

Somehow I made the jump to Ebeneezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchet.  Ebeneezer can have anything and everything his heart desires and more (other than love, but that's a result, not a cause...).  Yet, he denies himself all the pleasures in this life so that he can have "more".  More what, I don't know, but more is better right?  What does he get out of this?  Nothing but misery.  He looses the love of his life, the respect and love of his family and even his business partner.  He lives a cold and miserable life because he was "good".  He worked hard and didn't spend a cent more than he had to on anything, especially his employees!

Then there's Bob Cratchet.  He has a heart of gold and even tries to see the best in his miserable boss.  He doesn't have much but what he does have he tries to enjoy to his fullest.  He may not be able to afford many nice things, but what he can afford, he treasures and truly enjoys and appreciates.  It may be something as simple as a new piece of clothing or something as truly special as a better, tastier meal for his family.
And his son, Tiny Tim, the one who really has the odds stacked against him, he truly thinks of others first.  He loves with all his heart, only the way a child can.  He loves because he can, not because he "has to" or "should" or has been told to.  No, he truly sees the positive in everything, even being sick and gets as much good out of everything as he can.

So, when we approach not only this season, but our lives we have a choice at either end of the spectrum.  Either we can be puritanical and deny ourselves the pleasures of this life in the name of "being good" and having "more".  Or, we can be as big hearted and generous and appreciate what we have, no matter how small and enjoy it.

I choose to be more like Bob than Ebeneezer.  I may not have much (in a monetary way).  I may not be able to have much when it comes to some things (sweets for example).  But, I promise you this, what I do have, I will try and enjoy every little morsel of it.  I will enjoy every last bite of the few cookies or treats I decide that are worth eating this holiday season.  I will make yummy and delicious treats for my boys because I can and they appreciate it.  I will spoil my boys and my friends and family a bit (but not too much) as my budget allows, not because I have to, but because I want to.  I want to share what I have with those that I love.  I want to see their smiles.  I want them to be happy and to show that it may not always seem that way, but I do think about them.

I had this written much more eloquently and made a much better point earlier, but my computer puked and it went away.  (I wasn't typing it in Blogger, so there was no autosave...)

So, I bid you peace and much happiness and enjoyment this holiday season and throughout the year to come.

The Powers of Technology

A few odds and ends first. Mom is still dizzy, her ear is healing very slowly. Hopefully she'll be doing much better by the end of the week. Also, this week has been a bountiful week for gifts of fruit. Monday Gak was given a jar of homemade peach preserves. It's more like chunky pureed peaches in juice. I had some this morning on a bagel with cream cheese and boy was it yummy! Then, yesterday Gak was gifted with a pint of fresh, organic, locally grown blueberries. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, but they look really yummy too.

Work is going well. I'm finally beginning to transition into my new role a bit, but haven't been able to give up my old role quite yet. I've been doing several demos of our new product offering over the past week or so. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing them from time to time... but... it really isn't in either of my roles. But, it's small potatoes to complain about and I figure having myself, who is knowledgeable in reporting requirements and our system, doing it is better than some options. I mean, we are trying to sell a product here after all.

Anyhow, the real reason for this post. Ain't technology grand? And Doesn't life work in funny ways?

A little back story here. Waaaay back in the summers of 1994/1995 I worked at a Girl Scout camp. I loved it. I made many friends amongst the other staff members, including several who were from overseas. But... I'm a lousy letter writer and was in college as well so within short order, I lost track of all of my friends.

Fast forward to this past year. Boo starts going to daycare. The daycare is run by someone that is very involved in the local GS Council and her daughter was in Scouts with Kat.

Here's where technology enters the scene. I have a Facebook account. (Unless you already know me, no, you're not getting an invite...) So dose Kat, thanks to me and some others. Kat found Cathy, daughter of the daycare leader and mom to Mikey and Joey. Joey is only about 6 weeks older than Boo. Cathy has some of the people I worked with at camp as friends on Facebook. Of course, I don't realize this until one of them makes a comment on a post from Cathy. Since "real names" not "camp names" are used in Facebook it's a little hard to find people you only remember as Lynx, or Blessa or Diver or Droopy or Wolf or any other one word moniker that may or may not have any relation to a given name.

So, in a long, weird way... I found 3 of the people I used to work with at camp over the last few days.

Yes, I'm now back in touch with Lynx who's originally from the Netherlands and now resides in Ohio. She's one of the few internationals who came back for more than one year. Actually, she came back for several. She and I bunked together during pre-camp our first summer. We also got the joy and pleasure of working together several weeks the two summers I was there. My favorite memory was when we were sitting through some lecture or something and I glance at her paper to see if I wrote something down right and had no clue what was on her paper. She was writing in Dutch. She caught me glancing and we both had a good laugh about it.

I've also found Blessa. For someone who never took horseback ridding in her life, I sure got a lot of horse units the one summer. Blessa was one of the equestrian staff. I ended up sharing a tent with her for about half the summer. She was always good to me and we were able to laugh at how little I knew about horses, yet here I was leading horse units. She definitely acted as a mother hen to us wayward cubs. Of course, when I first saw her name come up all I could think of was "Heals down! Elbows in!". I think she was saying that in her sleep for weeks after she returned to England after camp. I know I probably was.

And, in a further strange twist of fate, I get a call just before starting this post from Gak. He found his former roommate, and the man who performed our wedding ceremony, Bruce. We hadn't heard from him since about a year or so after the wedding. Apparently he's doing just fine, has divorced and remarried. I'll know more when I get home and get a chance to look him up myself.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg really. I've reconnected with several people from OK that I never thought I'd hear from again. And a couple from high school too. (I just got my 15-year reunion invite. The evening thing is a $35 a head appetizer buffet and cash bar affair, but they're doing a free family picnic, bring your own, the next day. I doubt I'll go to the evening bash, may stop by the picnic just because it's about 5 minutes from my parent's house...)

So, yeah, ain't technology grand? Life really does work in mysterious ways. I'm so happy to have reconnected with my long-lost friends. (That and the fact it hasn't rained since Sunday doesn't hurt... although, looking out the window it might start up again any moment...)

Peace to all and may you find the ones you love and have pleasant surprises thrown your way.

Stray Thoughts and Randomness

How come I come up with the best blog posts in the shower or while pumping or at some other inconvenient time?

And how come I can't remember them later?

I have lots to say from the past few days, but I don't know what it all is or how I want to say it.  There's been a lot bouncing around in my head that I want to get out, but it won't sit still long enough to get there.

I'll give it a shot.  Please forgive me if this is even more random than usual.

Yesterday was Monday.  It feels like Monday was actually a week ago, but no, it was only yesterday.  We're getting to the end of the line for this reporting month and I'm still not sure the light at the end of the tunnel is the end of the tunnel or an oncoming train.  I guess I'll find out Friday.  To say this one has been challenging would be an understatement.  I'm still arguing with a couple of sites and their conversion to the new format and connection issues.  That and next Thursday is that training session in Phoenix that I've got to get JD ready for.  Oh, and there's about 30 other things on my plate, but I really have no idea what they are.  I think there were about 10 phone calls I was supposed to make today that I didn't.  Oh well.  That's life.

Yesterday, I was talking about yesterday.

Gak calls me yesterday around noon.  We got a letter from the Marshes, who were friends with my Gram for many years and lived in the same community in Maryland.  (They used to go to the same church ages and ages ago is how they met.)  Jackie was thanking me for the letter and pictures I'd sent her.  She also sent me a copy of a poem that Gram wrote ages ago and read for a talent show or something they'd had a few years ago and thought Mom and I would enjoy.  She also included a copy of what she wrote for Gram's memorial service.

I didn't know how to respond.  I just stopped for a heartbeat and couldn't say anything.  Gram's been on my mind a lot recently.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because her 86th birthday would be Monday.  Maybe it's because Gak and I were talking about going down to Delaware for a long weekend sometime this summer.  Whatever the reason, she's been on my mind.

It was really nice to get a piece of her writing.  She wrote a lot.  Some of it was funny, some of it serious, some good, some not-so-good.  I think that I get my urge to keep this blog from her.  She always talked about writing a memoir.  She was always encouraging me to keep a journal and write things.

Of course, this reminds me of a really good book I read years ago called These is My Words.  It was a Western and a memoir and a bit of a romance (ick) all rolled into one... or something.  It was very earthy and "real" and written like a journal.

Anyhow, I get side tracked again.  Anyway, Gram's been on my mind a lot and it was great to get some of her writing.  I really need to write Jackie and Dave back and thank them.  They were great friends with my Gram and are wonderful people.

I know I had more to say, but it's almost 8:45 now and I'm getting tired and I know I'm not making much sense.  Like I said, there's a lot bouncing around in my head, but I just can't seem to get it to settle enough to come out in any kind of way that makes sense.

I'm off to go get a glass of milk and go to bed.  Maybe I'll sleep tonight.

Peace to all and may your thoughts actually settle long enough to be thought.

P.S. I did update the Flickr... go... look...

Uh... where whas I?

It's been a busy week around here.  Unfortunately, I have no idea why it's been busy or what we've done.

It feels like it should be Friday already, but it's not.  Gak's been working extra hours this week, which is nice and will make up for the fact that he's got some extra days off and some reduced hours the next two weeks.  Unfortunately, it won't really make up for having Boo in day care all this week.  Me having off most of the next two weeks will though.  He'll only be in 2 half-days the next two weeks.  We won't know what to do with ourselves.

I must say, I'm really, really looking forward to Jon and Becca being here.  It's been a year since I've seen them and they haven't had a chance to meet Boo yet.  He's gonna knock their socks off!  They'll be up here for dinner Christmas Eve and then we'll all be down at Mom and Dad's for Christmas Day and Hannakuah night.  (It's very cool that they overlap this year.)  Mostly we're doing it this way because that'll be the only night we're all home together and also because my dear husband wants latkes.  He says they taste almost like the way his dad did hashbrowns.  I don't care, they're yummy.  It'll just be good to have everyone together.

Work's been long and ardous the last few days.  I keep feeling like I'm chasing my own tail.  I think I get one thing fixed, and nope, it's still broke or something else isn't right.  Of course, it helps if the guy you're talking to actually listens to what you're trying to tell him to do and does what you say.  Oh well.

I did a quick check of assigned call numbers yesterday.  As of 5:00 yesterday, the only person who had more assigned to them than me was Bill.  And I'm the training manager and training is supposed to be my main focus.  To be blunt... WTH??  I don't understand.  Oh, wait, I do understand.  It seems that these days there aren't too many of us who have a clue of how to actually do anything.  I mean, Dom's good with the hardware/computer support end, but hasn't really bothered to learn a whole lot about the rest.  (Of course, I'm really good at the reg stuff, but not so good at the code any more... but I can still do it... just don't make me do hardware/network stuff, I've never been good at that...)  Right now; George, Bill and myself seem to be the most knowledgable people.  And George hasn't been here a year yet, but he's been busting tail to understand the reg stuff as well as show off his hardware/general IT mad skills.  If they don't hire him in at the end of the contract, I'm going to kick someone.  We can't loose this guy.

OK.  I've got to wrap this up.  I didn't want to turn this into a work rant.  I just wanted to say that we're still here.  Life's been good but busy and hopefully I'll have tons of pictures and things to post over the next few weeks.  Sorry I haven't updated the Flickr since Thanksgiving... I don't have too many pics to put up there in the first place and I've been too lazy too in the second.

I'm off to find the shower...

Peace to all and may your lives be full.