StayCay 2011

We had a magical week of doing all the wonderful things our great town has to offer but we never seem to find or take the time to pencil into our otherwise rushing and hectic lives.   Friday afternoon driving down MoPac from the office I felt a freedom I haven't felt in a long time.  I was on vacation and there was no packing, no schedule or plane to catch, no requirements or pressure, nothing to forget or accidentally leave behind... just me and my family and the 9 1/2 days ahead. We had a great weekend and starting Sunday afternoon, we surrendered any chores or tasks undone, unplugged the computers, put away our phones and really began to unwind.

We bought flowers for the house, we went on walks, we worked out together(!).  There were cocktails a with our 3 hour-long lunches and 2 hour long massages.  We shopped, went to the theater, watched a movie at home and had our morning coffee on South Congress with all the sounds of the bustle of the town around us and the people watching of (mostly visiting) people in our town.  We went to Zilker park and picnicked by ourselves and also with thousands of people.  We floated in the pool and let the Shorty play 'hooky' from the nanny and hang with Mom and Dad in the mornings and all day on Thursday and Friday.  We had a magnificent date night and I took the time to make a book for my kiddo which he is now carrying around with him like some kids carry around their blankie (which makes my heart swell).

More posts to come on our StayCay as it starts to wind down.  But frankly, bloggin is a favorite thing to do that I haven't had time to do lately so this is a fun nap-time thing.  I hope that as we re-enter regular life, we can incorporate more of our Staycation way of life into the everyday.  Great in theory... we'll see how it goes in practice.

...and we're back!

Sorry so quiet in the blogspohere. Turns out: a nanny search takes up every available second and ounce of energy. When I haven't been shaking down every lead I can find for a potential long-term care giver, I've been finding short-term solutions to keep the little fella day-to-day. Ever tried to find a babysitter for a night? Let me just say, it's not easy. Try finding someone for every day of the week, 8 hours a day for a few weeks. then each day 'training' that new person on how the little fella's day should move... and if I don't give enough information, it's the wee one who pays the price. So DO IT RIGHT, Moma! I'll also point out - it is a really crappy feeling at the end of each day to wonder who the person is that you will be trusting your child with tomorrow. And at the same time: I'm lucky to have a 'back-up care' service through work and the local nanny agencies. So glad to be at the end of this search. Meanwhile, we have given some serious thought to getting an Au Pair. So who knows... Juggling, spinning, juggling, twirling.... and we did finally get a car. so the one-car-family thing lasted about a month, just for added logistical complexity. ah, good times. :) with the completion of this task: evenings and saturdays have been returned to our bucket of time to do something else with. hooray! and as it always seems to work out - a little volunteer commitment has turned out to be much more than i expected. next up: furnishing and decorating the cabana. catching my breath. Kate's wedding & parties. business trip to Brazil.

Week over Week

As I sit in the dentist's chair waiting to learn the fate of an upper left molar, I'll attempt to explain why I think this week has got to be better than last:

1. After celebrating mr price's bday in lovely style... He became deathly I'll with the flu. poor guy; never seen him look so miserable. and it lasted alllll week. which meant a couple things: (1) he was in quarantine upstairs and i brought him food and drink, little more than sliding it on the bedside stand and bolting for the door for fear of catching this dreaded illness or worse... passing it on to the Shorty. (2) sick and in quarantine = needs help, not helping. so all morning, evening and middle of the night duties were passed to yours truly.
2. between the snow and the below freezing temps, there was quite a bit to maintain around the house - dripping pipes, running the pool pump, fishing leaves out of the pool (which involves holding a large aluminum pole for extended periods at below freezing temps and no, i did not stick my tongue on it), carrying the citrus trees to the cabana, and other manual labor.
3. still in the wrist brace
4. severe tooth pain brought on by a girl scout cookie. (they look all sweet and innocent...)
5. our cousin's dog had to be put down. broken hearts all around.
6. VERY heavy work load this week + a work event which meant having to stay late
7. earlier in the week I declined some additional (& substantial) volunteer work. by mid week I found myself having just agreed. hello rush advisor. what? yep. for all the fun I am SURE it will be; i still might be crazy.
8. the nanny missed monday due to a cut foot. while it was surely an accident, it totals a LOT of missed days. So tuesday involved a very serious 'talk' with her and the other nanny-share mom. no fun. but definitely necessary.
9. Friday was a 'snow day' funny thing about snow days when you work from home: NOTHING CHANGES other than it's cold and a bunch of other people are working from home who usually don't so conference calls start late, people no-show and progress is gerenally slower and more frustrating.
10. All weekend plans were cancelled - not just because or Mr. Price's aforementioned illness, but because all three other families ended up sick, too. Did I mention my hands are raw from contant washing?
11. this was the last week to get in all final details for a large fundraiser of which I am on the board. many emails and phone calls. see item #6 above which indicates: it is not ideal timing to need to wrap up a bunch of loose ends.
12. despite substantial effort - the car search is still no closer to closure. oh, and the cabana renovation has not had a finger lifted in it's direction... which leads me to additional odds and ends, but at this point i'm exhuasted myself.

But some lovely things happened last week, too.

• Besides for the birthday celebration and the lovely new shoes that had their debut
• I had a lovely lunch on Friday with Arin, little Will and my babino at 34th St Cafe
• Late Saturday night while the babino slept and Mr. Price felt up to it...I saw a movie for the first time in ages. Loved the cinematography & lighting plus very interesting dialog and speed to The Social Network. It was pretty darn good I have to say.

So the bottom line: this week I'm looking for a multi-digit percent improvement over last and i'm pretty sure that can be achieved. =)

Sent from my iPhone

Beads, Blogs and Butts

I'll spare you the resolution talk... we know i don't believe in those anyway. but happy new year!

BEADS
While in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains I began beading Shorty's Christmas stocking (yes, the week after Christmas) but there was no getting to it sooner and it was a lovely thing to do while relaxing in NC. I haven't beaded since living in Dallas with the good ol' "Stitch and Bitch" group. For all the creations I made along the way, I was surprised to realize that I gave away almost all of my creations with the exception of a couple snowflakes I found shoved in with my bead and sequin supplies. It's still a work in progress, but the most time consuming part was designing and cutting out the items. So while i was at it, I cut out an extra set to make a 'kit' for future stockings. good times.

BLOGS
Sadly, though my mind has been cranking away on blog posts, i've not been cranking them out. it takes a lot longer and a lot more body involvement to type these days. However, i go back to the doctor at the end of next week and we'll see what he says about the hand/brace. cross your fingers!

BUTTS
And the most shocking post-holiday news of all: I have been working out. yep. gone twice now to my neighborhood non-chain gym and am 50/50 on enjoying it. However, i'm hurtin' today. Not because of the dinner last night celelbrating Mr. Price's company being funded. And not because the baby woke up after we got home and remained awake and unhappy until finally giving up around 3:30. I'm hurting because of Tuesday's equipment pilates class (my first ever! which I would have enjoyed, I believe, if not for the raging b!tches in the class that I had to contend with) and yesterday's 'boot camp' style class with an inspiring and energetic (but not obnoxious) teacher and interactive and fun class. Hopefully i'll keep it up! You never know. =) The fact that it takes under 6 minutes from my door to walking into the gym and thatI can go during the day while the shorty is with the nanny makes it much more likely that this could continue.


Hitting the ground running this week. It's been great to be back home and have a smooth re-entry into work after a couple weeks off. Thanks to CES, collegues both internal and external are all doin' it up in Vegas - leaving me to actually get some stuff done. yay.

The Enemy of Perfection

So this evening as I ate my dinner, talked about work and fed the baby with the (seemingly attention-starved) cat sitting in my lap, it hit me: I haven't blogged in awhile. Was it the business trip that took a week of prep to match my week on the road? The photo sessions and related post-production endless task list? Maybe it was because of the newly-crawling, teething kiddo and adjustment to the time change and all that entails? Could it be the trips to the vet and the kitty-girl overcoming her illness that just about sent her to kitty girl heaven? Maybe it's the house redecorating? It surely wasn't the distraction of UT football. For all the times I get super busy, I still find time to blog. Why haven't I? I have tons of stories, updates and vignettes in my head, just bouncing around and itching to get out... so why?

My cousin recently emailed and asked us to compile photos and stories for my Grandmother's upcoming 90th birthday (yet another undone-to-do) and something she included at the end of the request was compelling. Maybe I should think on it a bit more until it REALLY sinks in... but on to it: "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough" In an effort to make things just right, don't put so much effort into it that you don't finish it and move on to the next thing.

You laugh. Think this was directed at me? Case in point?

So yes, I have managed to skip over some blog-worthy happenings which about drives me bonkers. It's one thing with things are just crusin' along, nothing to report, and I'm feeling the creative impulse to scribble. But uggh, to have content yet haven't captured it is like an itch I can't scratch. Did I mention I *actually* worked out? YES! THREE, count 'em THREE trips to Vinyasa Yoga (that's three 90 minute sessions of power yoga in a heated room). I mean, that's SOMETHING.

With all these things scrolling through my cabeza, I kept thinking I'd back-blog them. But alas, I give up. Maybe I'll have a very slow next couple weeks and have the chance to do just that. Ah, note to self: next week is Thanksgiving. Is it possible? (Time to bust out the Charlie Brown!)

And so in summary, I offer the following... Here 'tis:
-work trip damn near did me in... but I made lemonade: flew the boys to meet me in San Fran and we enjoyed spectacular weather. Even the locals were in awe.
-for now, I've managed to stave off the 2 week trip to Brazil. Seriously? Brazil. Don't get me started on the irony. and related eye-rolling frustration.
-The kitty girl is in full recovery. However, she has a new problem... for years she was a bit, shall we say, overly fluffy? (read: morbidly obese and on diet food for years, to no avail). She has dropped from ~20 lbs to a frail 5 1/2 lbs and as we have been working to pack the pounds back on, she has made progress. Along with it, she's become less irritable. whew. few things as mood altering as a cranky kitty. ESPECIALLY an hour after the baby has gone to sleep.
-yoga. see above. Mmmmmm. yay.
-the house make-over has been delightful. makes me wonder why i didn't do this early.
-we had our first over-night away from the bebe. Mr. Price and I got away for about 36 hours for a lovely stay at Barton Creek Resort while the shorty's delighted Nana got the pleasure of snuggling and playing with the little charmer. And a good time was had by all.

that's all I've got for now, team. Diving back into photoshop for the balance of the evening for a photo shoot of a babino with several large souvenirs of recent fun-gone-awry (aka scratches, bruises and bumps) that we'd prefer not preserve. good times.

over & out.

Promise You'll Tell?

Yesterday, while in the bathroom at the office I felt like I was in a time warp. Like, hello-and-welcome-to-the-late-nineties time warp. And you would have said so too if the shoes in the stall next to you were black loafers with a 2 inch chunky heel with a square toe and elasticized jersey material. to take it a step further: there was a thin woven leather belt on the ground next to it. I honestly stopped and started flipping through to try to remember if today was a dress-up day and I'd somehow overlooked it. I expressly remember when that was in style, and it would not be fair to say it was 'a few' seasons ago. I fully expected to step out and see full-on mom jeans with a heavy color blocked rugby shirt on top... tucked into said jeans and cinched at the waist.

But instead of waiting around to see, I darted out there feeling shocked and a little guilty for mentally trash-talking someone's unintentional retro outfit. (yes, of course I washed my hands)

Which brings me to this: promise that when the day comes that I am that person dreadfully out of style, even to the point that a new mom who rarely 'dresses up' past yoga pants for the day (yes, work out clothes and I've yet to work out), promise you will tell me. Drop me a copy of last season's Vogue if you can spare it, forcefully clean out my closet, demand I hand over the belt. Whatever it takes. Because a true friend will tell you.

Ticket in Hand

For some reason, I was super excited for our season tickets to arrive today and can hardly believe that kickoff is a mere 17 days away! Alas, the end of summer is drawing near... But not the heat.

I digress...

Excited for the tickets... which we are selling. But that doesn't matter! Because -even if only for a few moments- the arrival of these pieces of cardboard remind me that my favorite season (football) is just around the corner and helps pull me out of my summer slump.

Though it has been years since my last 'real' summer (ironic that it is considered a 'real' summer only prior to entering the 'real' world, when a 'real' summer ceases to exist)... I've had a bit of the end-of-summer blues lately. Or maybe it's the mean reds. Put another way: it feels like it's that last day of summer for the past week or two. In any case, I took a quick swim today at lunch to try to shake it off. But it was the tickets that did the trick.

Right here, right now

These are the things on my mind right now on this lovey rainy morning where i've been so fortunate to work from my kitchen table (and yes, in my pajamas). When not on the VP's WW Town Hall meeting or plowing through emails and fielding urgent work calls to my cellie, i took a couple moments to peel an orange, watch the rain fall and listen to "Dear Mr. Fantasy" off the blog. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Here's what's on my mind:

1) Peeling oranges. Turns out, I love peeling oranges. seriously. always have. never really appreciated this until earlier this week when a co-worker seemingly went bonkers at seeing me peel an orange, belaboring how much she *hates* peeling oranges. Didn't know you could hate it; I enjoy it quite a bit. it's fun to punch my nail into the peel, it smells so good when that delicious orange oil squirts out and then the gratification of scratching off the bits of rind that remain... you get the picture

2) I had the funniest dream last night that keeps replaying scenes in my mind. Mainly that the shorty came along (which in the dream we knew exactly how early he'd arrived) but i realized that i couldn't remember what labor was like -- so that was good-- and he was okay, even if three months early - and then i was holding him and he was a sweet fluffy grey kitty. We were SO excited and SO in love with the little furry fella. =)

okay. that's all i got for now. happy friday, friends!

Mayberry?

I started this post awhile back and never finished it. On a walk tonight in the dark, already, at 6:30. Not all of the few street lights in the 'hood are working at this time yet (strangely, because one would THINK that light sensors are a better approach than timers, but whatever... after all, it is the City of Austin we're talking about here) - but I saw shadow of a guy on a walk carrying a grocery bag on the other side of the street. Probably the 10th person or so we'd seen on our short stroll, but then he came into view of the one streetlight working for a couple blocks- and it was my Dad! YAY! Good fun. He invited us over for dinner but we were already prepped for scallops and green beans. Anyway... the point is that the encounter reminded me I had this unfinished post. So, here it is:

Original Post date and time 10/14/09 9:13PM

Came home tonight and before pulling in my driveway, saw my neighbor Will walking Emma (their yellow lab) and stopped to chat for a minute. Caught up on each other's plans for the weekend and other small talk.

Got in the house and Mr. Price was already home and wanted to go on a walk! So we suited up and headed out in a matter of minutes. Got to the front yard and saw our neighbor John walking his pup. John worked with the Mister back in the day at the firm and we love seeing his post-firm happiness and free time. We all revel in it =) He's quite excited for our pending shorty and had a bunch of questions about how I'm feeling and how the little guy is doing. Of course wanted to be reminded of his approx due date. Lovely conversation and they were off to continue their walk.

Took a lovely tour around the neighborhood - passing the TriPrices house and waving and chit-chatting with other folks. Everyone seemed so cheery and relaxed.

A couple blocks from home and hear a bike coming up behind us. Then we hear in a familiar voice "I thought that was you two! You're walk is a bit different than usual..." It was my Dad! He was riding his bike to the store and detoured a block when he saw us =) So he rode in circles around us until we made it to the driveway. He was going to come in and see the new sonogram pictures, but by the time we made it to the house, we'd all forgotten and he peddled on down our street to the store.

Oh, but we're not done yet.. the along comes another neighbor ending his run and stops for a minute to talk home renovation progress (they, too, are doing some work on their house).

Seriously, are we in Mayberry or what? It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

It's All Uphill From Here!

It was a truly lovely birthday in spite of my first birthday surprise: getting sick on birthday eve and losing my dinner (to the point that I wondered if I threw up the baby) starting at approximately 12:08. My first birthday 'gift' was Mr. Price putting the barf bucket by my side of the bed just in case. Good times. Oh, and don't forget the extra pillows so I could 'sleep' sitting up. Didn't sleep much at all and felt like hell all night long. Good news: no fever. But I did wonder if maybe my body was just rejecting the 30s?

So from this perspective, it was all uphill from here, right? I mean, when you start the bday off puking (and NOT because you had too much fun and were over-served)- it can't get worse, right? Well, in this case, it didn't; i'd already hit bottom. (whew)

Definitely didn't go to work becuase I still felt like hell in the morning -and here's where it starts to turn around-- Mr. Price stayed at home with me. I finally got to sleep around 7am and slept on-and-off until 10, then got breakfast in bed (can't get enough of those honey nut cheerios lately!). Eventually got dressed and we went up to Central Market to get lunch which was tasty - even if I was still slightly queasy... I figured it was better to eat through the pain ;)

Followed by some light shopping, my side-kick in tow and repeating that it was my birthday and I got to pick. Worn out, I headed back home and much to my dismay had to take some work calls/shoot off some emails and try not to be too annoyed. Thankfully, I had a hard stop with work due to a 3pm doctor's appointment (which came in handy given the prior night's events). But I DID take the calls from bed and Mr. Price DID bring me my favorite tea, with my fancy honey, in my favorite mug. So that takes the edge off, you know?

GOT to love those wonderful ladies at my Doc's office. Nothin' but love for them!! =) I was feeling a better by then anyway, but two of them squealed and hugged me when they saw me which ABSOLUTELY made my day!! **I later suggested to Mr. Price that we take the first letter of each of their names and come up with middle name for Shorty. But for some reason, he didn't go for that idea... go figure**

Anyway - great appointment. All is well and we heard shorty's heart on the doppler (and a couple swooshes and kicks which impressed her) and we were about to leave and she found a sticky note in my file that said I get a 'free' sonogram for fun. WOOHOO!! So that was LOADS of fun. I had just accepted the fact I wouldn't get to see him and BAM! on goes the sono gel and there he was in all his glory. GOOD times, folks. GOOD times. She sent us home with some pics from the sonogram.

With a clean bill of health (I might have lost my dinner, but no swine flu here!!) Mr. Price suggested I move up the time on my massage appointment (which he suggested I call and set-up earlier in the day) and lo-and-behold: they could take me early... and I was dropped off right after the doc. WOOHOO. AND THEN - my massage lady didn't have anyone after me and decided to 'just keep going' as she told me later. WHAT!?! when does that ever happen?? She didn't even know it was my b-day. YAY for pre-natal massage. Even if you do have to lay on your side. =)

Got picked up from that by Mr. Price... in... MY CAR!!!! it is finally done. A month in the shop and wowza- it looks great. I missed it. But at the same time, after being all repainted and shiny, we're thinking of selling it while it is in such good condition. hmm. something to think on.

Don't forget that approximately a MILLION wonderful friends remembered me and sent me notes, messages and voice mails to wish me a happy day. Okay, maybe not a million, just enough, and those few are certainly WONDERFUL! So I kept checking my phone and seeing more and more sweet messages.

Went home, changed, headed out to Hudson's on the Bend for dinner. Mmmmmm. Given that I was feeling better, we decided to press on with our plans. -oh, but it gets better! We had some extra time before our reservation, so... Mr. Price smartly suggested we stop by the baby super-store to try to figure out what we need for shorty. (I'd already been and started the process with sister Kim)

YAY! why so excited? Lately, I have suddenly felt the urge to figure out what we need to get and make the choices of what type/kind/size/quantity of the seemingly never-ending list of baby things. You know I'm a list maker and this for me is bringing order to chaos. We are making decisions. We are picking things out. We are making a list. Ahhhhh.....

Then on to dinner. And a superb dinner at that. Lobster, Duck, fancy shrimp thingies with fancy sauce and an ancho paste (the 'ancho paste' thing obviously stuck with me...) and then... stop it. really? get this: our kitchen back (in some restaurants this would be the bus boy, but at Hudson's it takes more skill and attention) decides he wants to TREAT US to dessert! what!?! then our uber-professional waiter comes over and says something about it is an occasional perk they get to do and our guy was pulling that card for us! he said to pick what ever we wanted (i knew from the beginning of the night) but then they brought an extra THIRD dessert. WHO DOES THAT!?!?! I want to put them and the nurses/PAs and the masseuse all on a boat and throw a big party for them!

To top it all off, when we got home, Mr. Price had gotten me some Divine bath potions, candles and such from my favorite: L'Occitane and a little bath caddy for the tub so into the tub I go for a nice long soak. Mmmmm...

It was a happy birthday to me.

Shower Story

It's been awhile since my last 'gross' post - but what can I say, this one just fell in my lap.

So as previously mentioned, my car got smashed by a massive falling tree limb. With the rain we've gotten over the past few days (yay for rain!) we realized that the damage also included pulling the door away from the frame just enough to no longer be water-tight. Therefore: raining outside = raining in the car. Awesome. --but this is just background building up to the funny part-- So sweet Mr. Price scurried to get the car into the shop only to get a "CUBE" of a car. Strange little thing that it is-- i've actually never seen a real-live car that so closely resembles a cartoon-mobile.

While the cartoon-mobile is entertaining, it doesn't exactly feel like a fortress of security. Therefore: (per Mr. Price) I am in the truck until further notice. =)

Meanwhile: Manager Man (who is more like a brother than a boss) was giving me a hard time yesterday for my nails. Well, really just my thumb nail. Admittedly, it was way too long, but i kept forgetting to cut it and thinking that it would break off like all the others did last week. So I was already self-conscious of it. this morning he teases me again. rat farts!

--okay, set-up is done. starting to feel like this has been a long haul for a short slide. oh well, too late now--

So i go to the truck to leave to get lunch today and... lo and behold! there is a nail clipper! way to go Mr. Price! how handy. so I pick it up to go to town on my thumb nail - bring it over my lap and... a confetti-like shower of nail clippings! so gross, but i suddenly can't stop laughing. looked at the clippers and they were some fancy kind that has a 'clip catcher' (think along the lines of a hole punch).

anyway- there's the short slide. i'm quite sure this story didn't convey nearly as funny as it was to me at the time. surely just as gross. but man, i AM still laughing on the inside.

And in the mornin' we'll make WAFFLES!!

Mmmmm is for morning....

Lights, Camera, Action & Missing in Action

Lights:

The electrician came on Wednesday and finished installing all the fixtures and switches!! We have light upstairs! Friday the plumber came and installed the plumbing fixtures and he wanted to finish before the weekend (and not return today) -so bless his heart- he stayed until 9pm (which didn't bother me because my lazy @ss was laying on the couch.

Camera:

Wednesday we had a sonogram and learned that our little babino is a baby BOY! Good times, party people. Good times. It is a bit surreal to think in terms of our baby being a little boy rather than a just a baby - the loss of ambiguity has been a pretty cool thing to wrap our heads around. As my brother put it: it really changes things when you can think in shades of pink or blue instead of shades of gray. Agreed.

Action:

TONS of rain yesterday and last night in Austin. YAY!! We need it. Most severe drought after the hottest summer on record (was it 68? days of triple-digit heat?) so the rain was welcomed. And the new door was installed yesterday (excellent timeing, fellas) and I did a little dance after darting the house out of the rain, heading upstairs and noticing not a drop of water on our wood floors. whew!

Now for the 'action' part: heard a few loud noises this morning but went back to sleep thinking maybe the house was settling. I woke up super early [for me] and you know something is headed your way when you hear in a gentle voice: "okay, now don't be mad..." right after 'good mornings'

A large tree branch fell on my car from one of our massive elms that I love so much. Don't know which I'm more disappointed in- the car getting all banged up -again (hail storm last year did a few grand of damage) or the tree losing a branch. oh well... just another trip to the body shop and a call the arborist.

Missing in Action:

We sold our 4 season tickets this year but today is opening day. You gotta know I love me some Texas Football. I've had these season tickets since 2001. I consider "Football" to be one of the 4 seasons in the calendar year besides for Spring, Summer and Winter. However, there is a certain liberation I am feeling that I will miss multiple home games this year and not stressing over it.

Having the tickets in-hand gives you this feeling of obligation: "I've already paid a couple hundy for these cute little pieces of cardboard; hell if I'm not using these to walk into that game!" But it isn't just walking into the game: it is an all-day, 6-8 hour + time for preparation + the next day of recovery kind of event. It rules the weekend. Which I'm okay with, but as it turns out... I'm also okay with missing a bit of that action this go-round.

I'll still be cheering them on, it's just that I may be poolside. Hook 'em.

Flashback: 2006

Three years ago today, Aug 28:

The back and roof to my house was ripped off

Our pool was bright green

We were living in the 650 sq ft 'cabana' in our backyard

At least half of that space was completely inaccessible, stacked to the ceiling with boxes and furniture

Mr. Price was one week out from massive jaw surgery: his mouth was wired shut, we was on a liquid diet and he was HEAVILY medicated (and decided at some point in the day that pureed pizza and milk would make a nice snack. mention it today and he'll still shiver at the thought)

Our two cats who were terrified of each other were co-existing in this space with us -- which means I woke up approximately 6 times the night before to separate the cat fight before finally locking on in the bathroom only to hear him cry for the rest of the night

Thinking that we had about a month to go before moving into the house, we had not turned on cable or internet in the cabana - so I set up the TV and DVD player so he'd have something to watch in between medications

...And I had my first day of work at this job.


See-- things could always be worse. ;)

i made cookies

so, in spite of my horrific attitude lately - springing mostly from the jobby-job - today was quite a good day. and it was a monday to boot!!

in fact, i even got a wild hair and made some cookies. peanut butter chocolate oatmeal praline cookies, thanks for askin'.

The general disposition was most certainly helped by the fact that I worked from home today. Still productive, but didn't get my daily dose of 'life-sucked-out-of-me.'

and for that, i'm grateful. ;)

cookie, anyone??

Pimp tight in Peking

I admit I was a bit skittish - but you would be, too - had your travel agent hurled a "i've never heard of THIS airline..." as your ticket is booked to fly over the big blue ocean. Hmmm... nothing like a little reassurance.

Turns out, the flight from Seattle to Beijing on Hainan Airlines (China-based International with a new flight to Seattle) was fantastic! Not only were there swarms of sweet attendants catering to my every need (seriously, when I was reclining in my massive chair: someone came over and held her finger on the button so I didn't have to. WHUT?) ... the meals were incredible. Lobster, delicious ravioli with generous fresh cilantro (!) and on from there. Here's the real thing that won my heart: clean bathrooms. The whole way there.

Guess I'm just going to have to start flying in/to China more often now so that I can partake.

Needless to say, this trip is off to a good start. In spite of the fact that I didn't get to sleep until after 4 hours of laying there...mind racing... with the lights out, fluffy satin blanket, a couple pillows, eye pillow and noise cancelling earphones...

So other than not really sleeping (which isn't a huge shocker since I always have trouble sleeping on planes) my trip and arrival as been extremely smooth. Cake walk. I dig it.

Need to get to sleep soon so that I can catch up for the 27 hours of travel - woke up at 3am (Austin time) then arrived Beijing the following day at 5am (Austin time).

Everyone is REALLY helpful, but I get the feeling they may be skeptical of me.

One more comment - don't get me started about how much I LOVE all the gorgeous geometrical print designs on everything. Wait, to do it right, this is gonna need a post all it's own. Tomorrow! Good night (or good morning for my party people back home!)

Day Tripper

Woops. forgot to hit 'publish' on my last post. And then blogger froze up on me and reset my post... boo.



Heading to Dallas for a day trip tomorrow and really couldn't dread it more. For starters: I fly out at 6am. If one thing is certain: I do not make a happy early-morning person. I squarely left 6am flights behind when I ended my consulting days. OR so I thought.



Second: I'll be meeting with my less-than-favorite partners up there.



Third: there will be little time to do anything besides dart between DFW (not Love Field - make that #4) and the offices and back - so there is not even the slightest consideration to be able to stop in and say hello to friends up there. nor possibly meet someone for lunch because, oh wait- I'll be with my less-than-favorite partners at lunch. that's right.



So think of me tomorrow. I'll be in Dallas. Gripping onto my apathetic thoughts and trying to be replace annoyance and frustration with productivity of some sort.

Freedom

Apathy.
ap·a·thy (noun)
1.lack of enthusiasm or energy
2.emotional emptiness

This is my goal at work. And has been in effect for over a week now and seems to be working out quite nicely, really. And when I start to feel a little guilty for not caring... i quickly remind myself to not care. then Whoosh~ I feel nothing.

And it's nice. Hell, I'd even call it pleasant.

I think of it as "a healthy amount of apathy in all the right places."
So when I say "A 'healthy' amount..." I mean that occasional use of the word that equates to "plentiful." I have a mental image of myself smearing something fun and fluffy --like cool whip or cotton-y padding-- all around me so that the stress and 'chicken little' mentality in the office bounces off without ever getting to me. So 'all the right places' really refers to any space surrounding me while I am at work.

Part of me is concerned because I have always so passionate and diligent when it comes to my work. What if this ruins me? I believe that it won't. Given that I am (and have been) at the end of my rapidly-fraying rope, it comes just in time. Jackie says it's good to have a little apathy and to 'disengage' a bit given my recent burn out. Erin & Jim have applauded the effort. So along with a couple other votes of confidence in my recent 'laissez faire' approach, I continue on through the beat-down that has been work. Apathetic. Like water off a duck's back. Working hard, but not taking it to heart. If I don't get to it, the sky is *not* actually going to fall. Oh, AND: if I have need to leave early from a mind-numbingly long meeting that is barely more than a monument to bureaucracy... so be it. Especially if it is so that I can call and make a massage appointment on the walk out to my car.

Notification

Scene from my morning:

Walking into the building, there's a woman ahead of me, prolly 40 feet or so... mid-late 40's, dressed professionally, smart-looking blonde bob, rolling her computer bag in: swipes her badge on the door. Pulls on the door, didn't open. Swipes badge again... pulls on door... again- no go. Swipes a third time, pulls, alas... no entrada. Seemingly a big frustrated/defeated.

By then, I'm at the door, ready to swipe my badge and ask her, "Ya ever think, 'So is this how they let me know...?" as mine works and I open the door

To my surprise, she bursts out in laughter and says, "If it was, I sure wouldn't mind... that'd be great!!"

Ah, from a perfect stranger: honesty; cynicism.

Happy Monday.

Noteworthy (to me) on an otherwise Normal day

Went downstairs to grab lunch today- a bit late so it was pretty cleared out. The usual swarm of lunch grabbers milling around the stations or a stream of people standing in line to check out were cleared out. In fact, I walked right up to the register.

A normal day in the check out line not much more time than an exchange of simple pleasantries, followed by a quick"Need a receipt today?" returned with "No thanks" and she's on to the next.

My normal check-out lady, Maria, (I usually get in her line) was training some one new. I asked them both how they were doing and Maria stopped me, turned to the new girl and started in on something very serious... talking about 'some people being nice' and such... but then turned to me and said I really was nice, 'happy-go-cheery' and that I had a good heart. She went on to say that and she appreciated it and that she likes seeing me in her line. I'll spare you the rest of the details but suffice to say, this TOTALLY made my day.

The take-away from this story: I may be classified as, well, "anything but" by some, but Maria thinks I have a good heart.

My heart swells.