If today it starts to get rough on you, remember that even hurricanes end eventually.

I am ready for the 4 day hurricane to be over please.

Things that make you go hmmm...

Was out with the girls tonight. Typical night of wine and food without the husbands (theirs) and kids (ours) and realized something.

No one called to do anything in July because they assumed I was busy with my boyfriend (I am the only single one), and decided that I wouldn't come anyway. Yet, that wasn't the case at all - and I would have if life wasn't so busy and I didn't become a workaholic when the kiddo was away.

I just wonder how often we miss out on great friends, and therefore, relationship moments when we don't just pick up the phone. It all goes both ways.

As I said today on the bulletin board of today (FB) - smile at someone, you just might make a day for someone down the road. Maybe that smile is over the phone...

He always opens a door

I was just thinking, when a window closes - a door opens. Of course, the reverse is also true.

How many times do we not see that door? How many times are we too caught up in what seems like the worst time ever (or the best) that we don't noticed the chance for a new adventure?

Something to ponder...

What goes up...Must come down

I have now found out once more instance where that is a very true statement.

Home ownership is a lot of fun, and definitely has its perks. That said, it also has its not so perky moments. This weekend, I experienced plumbing fun. A blockage at least 10 years but at most 28 years old between the house and the city sewer line. Water from upstairs traveled downstairs, back up the toilet and down on the floor.

Now, fully functional plumbing wise, my house smells as clean as a hospital. We are not talking pine fresh, rather bleachy freshness.

Someone once asked me if I sing when I am happy. I was not singing this morning but am happy to say...clearly I am singing again. (Thanks neighbor, honey and plumber man!)

What goes up, must come down...:-)

My newest suitcase

So I decided to start a new journey in my life. Partially to make some extra money and partially because I love it when I can help others to feel good and relax. I don't know where this journey will take me but I do know that I am looking forward to the challenges, opportunities and new destinations that will go along with it.

The latest climb...can't wait to scale it to the summit.

Remember the Mantra...

We fake it until we make it....and if rum is required we use it......breathe.

I have the greatest friends!!!

This is why my mother rocks and I always find something to smile about

Hi All:

Wishing everyone a super great weekend, full of fun times, laughter, good food and lots of great wine!

Hugs,

Mom

I mean come on, who doesn't want that email from their Mom on a Friday? Hugs, fun times, laughter, good food and she remembered the great wine!!! Love you Mom!

Good times Good times

There are times when you just want to answer the phone:

"I am in the middle my own work, not the crisis of yours and therefore aren't really motivated to help. Unless you want to be told where to go with your 'fire', stop calling".

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

We'll go down to Mexico...

Just got back from an AMAZING trip to Mexico. It was a week long of the pool, ocean, flea markets, ruins, fish, food and bars. Now - most of you probably latched onto the bar thing, but honestly? Not much alcohol was drank (or drunk - natch). The greatest part? Watching kids have a blast just being kids.

I won't go into details as I never do divulge names - I protect all the innocent at all times.

I have determined that after a week of the sun, sand and pool I am a beach person. I never thought I would be the type to spend a day on a chair roasting in the sun, and I still don't. I do love to read and vacation seems to be the only time to do that anymore. Alternating between jumping waves, sitting on a chair or in the pool reading is a FANTASTIC way to spend a week. No cell phone or computer for me, and might I say how relaxing that was. The kiddo was with me so there was no need to panic that something went horrible wrong in that arena. Yes, something else could have gone wrong, but the family had the hotel info so if I was needed, I could be found.

Of course, a lot of this may be due to the company I kept. They are great people who have fun too.

In Europe - actually most other places in the world -people take a holiday. An actual unplug kind of vacation and we Americans need to learn from that.

I plan on doing that from now on, even if I just take a weekend - unplugging needs to happen for me to be human.

Unplug. I think we should all do it.

I'm Back

I once was lost, but now am found...oh wait, that seems like the wrong dynamic for this blog.

I admit I had what some call writer's block and others call bullcrap. Either way, I am back and ready to write.

And now it's July

Plenty has happened, as it always does, and now the kiddo is on the whirlwind tour of July which started at Catholic camp and will end in Mexico with the fam. Oh to be a kid again.

One might think a parent would love 10 days without the kids...time to do whatever you want, I find it daunting. 10 days? I keep up with his schedule, not my own!!!

Last night? Worked WAY TO LATE. Tonight? Dinner with bestest friend (and fam).

And why can't I just go home and put on comfy cozies and do nothing? That is the real question.

It's June

It is actually the second day of June and the first official day of summer vacation. That used to bring such joy as a child. As an adult, it is another day of work and yet a few months of possibility.

There are vacations, long and short, 1/2 days and full weeks; friends, family, new friends, new family; flowers, droughts, rest and run...in short, all sides of the story.

This summer brings our little family a whole group of firsts, exciting and scary at the same time.

I love new adventures, new firsts. I need to hold onto that, because with everything else going on, a girl could get down right depressed!

Here's to firsts...lots and lots of new adventures and firsts!

Life is a little dreary right now...

Today's cure? Perky Purple - bringing back the 80s one nail at a time!

It would be nice to match

As I folded up my desk calendar from April, I looked at the many events (personal and professional) I said out loud "That was a good month". Yes, there were times that I thought the light at the end of the tunnel was a train barreling towards me at warp speed; but when it was all said and done, the good outweighed the bad and it was a good month.

April showers are still here, waiting patiently on the May flowers. I hope they are yellow and pink, I like yellow and pink flowers....okay so I like all flowers but I am in yellow and pink today, it would be nice to match.

Responses to the new nail color that is WAY pink...

"Uh, yeah. That's some Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink virginal. Damn. How is it not burning your eyes out?" (Don't touch the virginal comment, it's just WAY to easy)

"Just put a pink boa and run with it!" (And yes, I will probably do just that tonight as I have no time to do anything else!)

"So, with the whiter than paper pale skin, she thought that was a good idea?!?" (I get it, time to start tanning.)

"Well hello 1984..." (I think I need to put lime green with it a celebrate the 80s. I don't even think this person was alive in 84 by the way.)

More to come I am sure...

UPDATE: I got to go home and change in to Pretty in Pink shoes, go to the event, then paint a sheer coat of Curtain Call over the top and it is now a pale pink. Perfect. :-)

Too much

I just noticed my last posts were about work and who really wants to spend anymore time on work right now than they have too? Apparently work is bleeding into life again, and while I don't believe it is possible to have the two separate, it is possible to push one to the back.

I am pushing it to the back. Lots of cool things are happening for the family and I right now, summer is coming, new friends and plans are made, the flowers are blooming, family is around the corner....

Let's focus on those, shall we?

UAT - Project Managers are killing me

"Can you block 2 - 1/2 day sessions for UAT on the new tool?" Uh, is this after I just told you our 10 person team is now 2 and we are losing our intern tomorrow? I know you are a project manager, I know your job is to keep us on track. My job is not encompassing only this one little tool that we are launching.

I can't even eat lunch most days unless you count a cup of soup and coffee during a call. So no, you are not getting a 1/2 day.

Just needed to get that out there before I said it on a conference all and hurt the pm's feelings.

Job Searches - listen to what I say to you!!!!

A lot of people are looking for employment right now. I am actually hiring two interns and have received no less than 200 resumes for each.

In a past life, I was a recruiter, so I know how to scan a resume quickly and screen calls for the best candidates. I also have a very short tolerance level for those who contact me AFTER I set up an interview about what the position is after I have already told them and they APPLIED THE FIRST GO ROUND. I have already told two people not to come in for their interview as they are not able to follow simple instructions. Don't even get me started on the one who told me, after they were here, "Well, yes I was not completely honest and do need visa sponsorship..."?!?!?!

My current intern found a job which adds extra pressure, but all the same, I know there are good students out there. SEND THEM TO ME JOB FAIRIES!!!

PS: Candidates, if you call me 4 times on Friday and once over the weekend, do not think for a second I am going to hire you. I am going to have my current intern interview you and then let you go. Seriously.

Good Times

It's a night at the ballpark during the week, and it's not 150 degrees.

Joy of hearing my kid say...
"They put in the rookie and Cruz lit him up like a torch" - after a grand slam that sinks your team but helps the kid's
"Sorry Mom, the Orioles don't want you coming to their games anymore" - after the O's drop yet another easy win with me there
"Hitting for the cycle???? I never thought I would see that!!!" - after Kinsler hits for only the 6th cycle in Rangers history
"He needs to pitch the ball - stop thinking about the runner, geez. Even I know that." - after the O's bullpen continually let's us (ok me) down

I know I am biased but my kid totally rocks.

To the Bat Cave

We grow up

We forget about Santa, the Easter Bunny and the joy of the first spring bloom or first sunny day to ride our bikes.

We get jobs, we make new friends and outgrow old ones. We raise families and we raise each other. We become more cynical and then realize life is too short and start enjoying it again.

We start life believing in fairy tales, we realize that fairies are not alive and that castles come with mortgages, we end life holding onto an angel that was the fairy by our side our entire life and head to that castle of our dreams.

We grow up, but we don't have to grow old. Hold onto your fairy, we all have one.

Sweet Dreams

And I mean it.

It's about friends

So, Facebook maybe odd for most, but it does help you hook up with old friends. As a person like me who cares for friends, how can that be bad?

Welcome back friends, I missed you!!!

PS: Lemontinis are the best on Good Friday!!!

When does it stop being fun?

The better question may be, when did it start making us all so old?

Yes, work is meant to be something that you do to live, you are not supposed to live to work but work was more fun than this, right? And it seems to be everywhere! It then bleeds over into your life and then your life starts to suffer.

I have new wrinkles, and not the great kind that come from smiles and laughter, the kind that come from squeezing my eye lids so tightly together in hopes that when I open them it will be a new day with some fun again.

I know - suck it up, this is life and we all just need to get over it. Well, I don't want too and you shouldn't have to either.

It's Snowing Y'All!

No, not here. But there it is snowing!!

Here it is just frost.

An addition to the Clan...

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,Rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back.

May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home

And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,

May blue be the skies above you,

May pure be the joys that surround you,

May true be the hearts that love you.

It's been a while

Not to state the obvious as each entry is dated, it has been a while. It's not that I haven't felt like writing, I always feel like writing. I think it is more that I just haven't felt like what I wanted to write about was able to be posted. I am not a believer in telling everyone in the cosmos what I am doing or thinking at every moment of everyday.

A lot of amazing things have happened in our world, new relatives, new friends, old friends being new again and new friends becoming old. It's been a regular circle of life.

Another holiday is coming up, work is crazy and the wonderful baseball season has kicked off. It's all good.

I have stuff I want to write about, I just need to figure out how to go about doing it in such a way that I am pleased. So much easier said than done.

Little things

As I have written before, little things can make or break your day. And, you can have little things that normally might break your day but they are trumped by little things that make your day and vice versa.

Today little things have made this day a fun one. And while my string of rice pearls from when I was a little girl broke today (yes, I saved all the pearls and called my personal jeweler to get them fixed - love you Mom!), it is still a good day.

No rainbows or hot air balloons, just smiles , conversations and friends.

Hope you are having a great day full of little things:-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"And may the wind be at your back all day with leprechauns and laughter at the end of your rainbow!"

a brilliant woman:-)

It's still raining

And it is very cold for us in March. Time for the rain to stop.

I am an honest person, not one who really will tell people what I think they want to hear. I actually get disappointed when I discover that people tell me things that I later determine to never be true.

When do we all grow up and just say it how it is? You never have to mean, just honest.

Rain Rain...

Anyone who grew up in the US of A knows the next line of that song is GO AWAY but we need rain, steady soaking rain.

Rain Rain STAY AND PLAY!

It is one of those weeks

My week has been one mishap after another, to the point that the safest place for me to spend the weekend is probably in bed under the covers with no lights on, but as I would get bored, that will not happen.

Riddle me this - is it better to get all the crappy junk out of the way in one week or to spread it over a few so you don't feel like the world is spinning against you.

And before people get all pissy, yes I still have a job and things could be worse, but we are all allowed to feel like we have lost all control. I have a blog I can write about it, you don't have to read it!

I fought a trailer hitch...and lost

Imagine that, hard metal versus a knee, yeah, I can see how I totally lost that one. And all I got was a big attractive purple bruise for it.

Ouch?!?!?!?

I am a bubble person

I never really liked being touched, although since that SfI journey...I am definitely less of a bubble person than I was!

That being said, a study has finally been done that confirms what anyone who has ever kissed the right person already knows, kiss the right person and life just feels better.

All they had to do is ask me, they could have given me the money they spent on the study. Heck, I would have done it for 1/2 price!!! Now to find my right person...

Cakes

I make cakes. It comes from my mom who decorated cakes for all of our birthdays and now, I do it for birthdays, holidays, friends, even done a wedding cake.

Right now I am working on two cakes with completely different colors and shapes. Why does all this matter? I am looking at the bright yellow icing on one of the cakes and it makes me smile. Yellow is what makes me smile today...what made the rest of you smile?

WE ARE UD...

WAY TO GO FLYERS!!!

Themes

"Whole world could change in a minute..."

Those are some of the lyrics playing via iTunes on my system right now. It goes on to talk about a few nights you don't regret and dreams you could chase alone or make 'our' own. It got me thinking (as I am tired of writing another technical story about something that I really question anyone reads anymore), what are dreams you chase alone? Don't you always need the support of others, even if you don't admit it? And aren't regrets another way to learn...and you need people for that!

The SfI journey I took late last year, yes that was my personal journey, but it was supported by strong people who I knew where there to catch me if I feel or doubted.

"Haven't you people ever heard of, closing the g*d** door..."

Clearly we have moved onto a new song.

Snappish

Really - if you are having a bad day, snapping at someone else is never the way to go. They will get irritated and snap right back at you and since you are already pissy, you won't understand why. Or at least I will snap right back at you.

So, it's either don't snap at me or don't snap at anyone. I will leave it up to you to decide which one of these is true!

It is...

...what it is and that is all.

Does anyone actually believe that???

So what is up with Facebook? From what I have heard, people are sometimes on it constantly. And while I am ALL apart of catching up with old friends...do you really want to 'friend' someone who you haven't talked to IN YEARS? I am not writing on the wall to a person I have not talked to in 10+ years.

Now - to the friends I know? Sure, why not? But even then, be careful because you know your boss is out there too...

And to update in 2010 - Facebook is great for catching up with people from old times and new!!! Amazing what time does:)

It's a new month!

So maybe it was actually a new month almost a week ago, I am just now finding time to blog about it.

Today was Go Red for Women day to promote awareness of heart disease in women. I was proud to see a lot of men and women alike wearing red. And even if it reminds one woman to take care of her heart, then more power to all of us matching!

That brought up a thought, we guard our hearts for our emotional health (some of us more closely than others and sometimes not nearly enough - and with the wonderful "You are Single so let's remind you" Valentine's Day coming up more so), why don't we guard it that closely for our physical health?

COME ON LADIES!!!! Let's remember GO RED everyday!

Climbing down from my spontaneous soap box now.

I see the rain...but where is the ice?

So today, in this lovely metroplex I live in, they shut schools down early around (at least my kiddo's) due to 'impending ice'. It is now after 5 and I am still waiting on the ice that caused the school to shutter and delayed the opening tomorrow.

Aren't we always looking for a reason to protect ourselves against 'impending ice'? I think so. We make up reason we can't do this or that. Reasons why we need to be somewhere at some time. Reasons we can't see that person, or talk to this person. Why do we do that? I am going to try something, I am going to try to not protect myself against the 'impending ice' and live life for not what might happen, but for what it is. Let the walls down, have fun with Life. A wide open chance at new challenges, ups and downs.

Let's see how that works for a while.

It's Friday!

Remember when you were a kid in school and Friday was the best day of the week because it meant no school for two whole days??? Now, as an adult, we look forward to no work for two whole days and yet...are the weekends as relaxing as they were when we were kids?

I am the first to admit that the weekends are less relaxing in our house due to the many activities the kiddo has...and the wonderful friends we have, and the fact that I love to spend time with them. Frankly, they sometimes stress me out. That being said, why is it, that even at my somewhat older age, Friday nights still seem daunting and if I want to just head home after whatever practice we have and sleep, I feel like I am doing something wrong?

Tonight is a prime example - I am in the mood to crash. I have had a rough couple weeks at work, busy (yet wonderful) time at home and woke up with a wicked fever at 5am yesterday - which didn't stop me from drugging up with aspirin and heading into the office. Emotionally I am pretty sure I am this close to a breakdown (not the commit me kind of breakdown, the cry in the pillow or sitting on the stairs for no apparent reason breakdown and seriously, what good does that do?!?). YET, I feel like it is Friday night and if I go to bed right after I put the kiddo down, I am the biggest loser on the planet.

I think it is time to rise above that feeling; so tonight, for all you not yet old but no so much young adults out there, I am going to say it is fine, nay, wonderful that we are a point in our lives where if we want to go to bed at 9, we are totally allowed to and no one or nothing can make us feel badly about that.

GOOD NIGHT (or at least it will be after I take this Tylenol PM)
:-)

Yawn....

Today I am just tired. It isn't that I didn't get enough sleep last night, I fell asleep on the couch flipping between the balls and funny shows (still love The Office - hits so very close to home!) closer to 9 then 10 only to wake up uncomfortable to go upstairs and get in bed.

I could try to blame it on the weather, but it is a chilly sunny day so that's not it. Work - well duh but it's not like that is new.

We had a GREAT weekend with lots of family and a birthday. Maybe that wore me down - my little one is not so little anymore and I am nowhere near where I thought I would be at this stage in my life. Or maybe it is just one of those worn down weeks. You know you have them, and if you don't admit to it - you are just lying to yourself.

Regardless of any of that, I felt the need to announce to the cosmos that I am just tired. And I am sure I am not alone in that fact.

Questions versus People

Everyone has heard the saying "There is no such thing as a stupid question". After many years of school and now work in the corporate world I would like to take that one step further.

There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.

Think about it - how many times have you been sitting in a meeting, or class (or even at a social gathering I suppose) when someone asks a question that is just stupid? Maybe it is something that was just talked about, or maybe it is something you know cannot be answered (legally or otherwise). You know you are thinking "What an idiot" but manners and humanity teaches us to keep our mouths shut and just smile.

While we are in school, we are learning so really, there aren't stupid questions, just not thought out ones - I will give students that. In the older world, I will give you no such excuse, stop being stupid and use your brain. It is what you are paid the big (or small) bucks to do.

It's a new year...

What does that mean? It means, a lot of people quit eating, drinking, start going to the gym, eating healthy, going to church...

Have you noticed the new year means starting and stopping? It is like a big traffic jam of life. People tend to put all this stress on emotional instability at the holidays, what about the bipolar direction the first few months of the year? For me, January and February are the two hardest months to get through...anyone agree?

2009 is a big year for my family - our family is growing, our little one is going into jr. high, and life is just changing...good thing I love roller coasters.