Quick check-in for me as well. I am getting ready to go to bed.
This week I decided that I would work from home 2-3 hours every night to get my work email in folders and categorized and cleaned up so that I feel I know what needs to be done and also have the back up info I need for all the projects I lead.
Tonight I got my inbox down to 2 unread emails and I will process those tomorrow and also everything is in folders for reference and in my inbox if there is action I need to take. I feel great!
Our fiscal year ends in June and I have another project that I will lead for my Director. This has to do with our enrollment for the Org and I have to run reports and analyis them (pivot tables..and I am not good at them) and they will be given to my Director and VP. The lady who does them now (is in Finance) is taking a new role and they aren't replacing her so I get this part of her work. I have this month and the next to learn her processes so I can execute them. Did I mention she is in England so this will be done over email and phone calls and maybe some Skype.
I really wonder how much more I can take on....but I know I need my job so I will do it and do it well so that come fall and ratings time my work shows I should be 1 rated-only 20% of the company gets this rating--I have had it every year in all my roles.
Happy--Congratulations on such a succesful Grand Opening.
I changed my S/C and My sig. to what the doctor's scale said yesterday, I could of swore my scale said I got down to 288 but maybe I was wrong, I have a habit of holding onto the wall when I first step on the scale so I dont fall and maybe I forgot to let go of the wall.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning all,
I think I survived the tsunami that has been my chaotic life the last 3 weeks. We had a great opening day at the thrift shop and yesterday wasn't too bad either. It's still a bit crazy there - everyone will drift to do their own thing - it's a shame we can't have consistency but I have had to work hard to let that part of me go. I will run the store the way I feel best on my 2 shifts and the rest of the time, it's someone else's turn to captain the ship. It will be good to get back to my regular life again. Lots to be done here around the house.
Spring is officially here. We have a medium sized young black bear that comes just about every night - he comes when it's dark so we can't really get a picture of him. We set the hummingbird feeder out today and within 5 minutes DH said a hummingbird flew to it. We have several colorful birds - red grosbeak, yellow goldfinch, red cardinal and today for the first time in his life - DH saw and orange Oriole on the feeder. Today is a bright and sunny day - I hope it stays that way for a while - we are saturated with water - have to pull up the rest of the carpet in the basement - I just hope the seepage cracks are not too bad and this will not be an expensive repair. DH is already fretting about the amount of money we have laid out this year. Which can be a problem when you have just a tiny pension. And there are all these animals that come to our house looking for food. Even the hummingbird was staring at DH at the glass patio door this morning.
So let me try and catch up on personals...
Terra - sorry your weight didn't come out to what you thought. Just keep plugging away like you are and it will happen for you. I can't believe how hot it is by you. Whew!!! I'd be taking evening walks just like you to escape the sun.
Susie - good idea to try and get organized so you can stay on top of things. That's really hard especially when a big component of your job is unexpected things tossed at you with short deadlines. Gee I wish I could help you with pivot tables. I was intimidated by them but then I got very, very good with them on my last job. Unfortunately this is a case of use it or lose it and I was amazed at how much I forgot not dealing with it any more. Same thing happened to me when I was creating forms for the Thrift Shop using Word. This time around, whether they want it or not, I am going to be doing some data gathering from the sales and will run some analytics on it (mostly for my own benefit) so perhaps I might be able to help you once it comes back to me. I'm sure you will pick up on it as you seem very smart and capable of anything they toss at you. Glad DH decided on the ablation. It took a while afterwards until things stabilized for my DH - I think because you have to wait for the scar tissue to form and do it's intended work - but I hope that will work out for him. I also hope you can get some relief for your foot - definitely find another doctor!
Laura - I guess will hand off the busy baton to you and Susie for the next few weeks. I was very surprised when my Mom told me how you guys were bumping up into some rather hot weather so soon. Sure seems erratic. 90 one day - cool and 50's another. Regarding your comment about the protein powder - that wasn't Whey brand protein - was it? In the summer we often make breakfast smoothies with yogurt, fruit and protein powder. What is the "bad" ingredient? Don't need any of that Thanks for commenting on the Cheddar Bay biscuits - that reminded me I have 2 boxes I was eager to try. Hope you get some good info from your class today.
Ceejay- I think after your experience your friend would be better off finding other arrangements when she comes into town. I know after working a 60 hour week as you do, I would not be in the mood to share my house with someone else. Now that retirement is getting closer for you, I think you can start to take a closer look at many situations and give some thought as to what will and will not work for you. Good job keeping up with the bike!
Shad - thanks for including the photos - I will look at them tonight. Geez with the taxes - I know it's sometimes complicated working among several states here - I gave no thought to working in 2 different COUNTRIES Although it seems like many Kiwis and Aussies work together so I guess they have the specifics nailed down fairly well. Talk about a complicated life! So your contract will be winding down. Will you look for other work or take a break for a while?
Annie - haven't heard from you. I'm taking it that you are still job searching. Still sending pleads to the big guy on your behalf each night. I hope you are keeping yourself busy and making good work of your free time right now.
Michelle - yikes you are getting the heat also. Yuck. I have to say I have never been a fan of the heat myself. And that's a bummer that you can't even get in a refreshing dip in the pool with your incision healing. I hope you are keeping your head above water on go live!
I really should get off the computer and get busy. I have a lot to get done and there is my yoga class at 2pm. Have a good day everyone.
Quick post for now...Might be able to check in later with personals. It was 75 when I left the house at 7:30 this morning. Those who know me know that mid-70s is my PERFECT temperature, but I couldn't even enjoy it much this morning as I was dreading the low 100s that we'll be feeling later today.
Santa and I were really struggling to stay cool yesterday after I picked him up from day care. Today, I've decided that I'm going out to eat and either to a movie or the library (somewhere air conditioned) until at least 8 or 8:30. The day care stays fairly cool, and I've asked them to give him a bath in the late afternoon (which he will hate but it will cool him down).
Today, I overslept because the fan cooling the room overnight was on full blast and was so loud I didn't hear the alarm. Luckily, I managed to get to work only a little bit later than usual and still before most people.
Ceejay - Your friend stayed overnight at the store??? Isn't that where she found the two dead cats?
Shad - Lovely photos of your weekend exploring. Thanks for posting them. Dunno why I thought the island would be further away from Wellington. How long is the ferry ride to get there? Now I know what a flax plant looks like!
Happy - Congrats on the successful opening. What a very nice donation from the two women! It might be harder for you to back off how the shop is run since you were so heavily involved in getting it re-started! Good luck!! I'll check the particulars about the protein powder. It was bf's, so I didn't know anything about it. (Though I do recall a bad "digestive reaction" to a whey protein bar I once ate. After that, I didn't want to supplement my food/diet like that anymore, LOL. Vitamins are about it for me.)
Michelle - Wow, that is HOT weather you're getting! Good keep-cool strategies for you and Santa. If our temps hadn't gone back down again, I would have insisted we turn on the AC, checkup done or not! Good luck with your "go-live drive".
Susie - My email inbox is getting out of hand and I will probably have to spend some time getting it under control. I don't have time during regular work hours, so I will also probably have to sacrifice some personal time to do that. But it'll be worth it.
Terra - You will get there if you keep plugging along!
Have we lost jollygirl??
Hi Annie!! Hope all is well with you and the family!
--
Nothing much to report. I had an important meeting to attend this morning, so I missed part two of the class today. Darn.
Busy as heck and then there's also another interview tomorrow with an admin asst applicant.
Looking forward to Friday - the boss is taking a day off and I hope I can hunker down and crank through some work. Meetings really throw me off and there've been a lot of them lately. Crud, I have another one at 2 pm today. Sigh.
Okay, my lunch is about over now, time to get back to work. TTFN!
Laura
It was safe for her to stay there. She's still cleaning things up so the store can sell!!!!!!! Better luck with that with the real estate market around here.
She still has a key to the apt but I'm picking it up tomorrow. She really doesn't have need of it any more.
Happy
Yes, I'm doing my own thing and I'm not letting any one run over me any more. I'm tired of it. Good idea on operating the store the way you want to when you are there, let the others do the same.
I'm taking a short break. Wish that the maintenance man could do his maintenance but it's been raining all morning. but he's studying right now.
Need to go. I'll check back tomorrow.
Another day, another $$ or three. Not sure what I will be doing today. They can't seem to keep me busy for very long these days. I had a visit from the training head dude yesterday saying that the project boss wanted to keep as many of us as possible until the end of July. I have said that I would be prepared to stay but not if there is nothing much to do. So unless they can keep me occupied, the middle of June is go home time. I have decided I will have a bit of a break and a holiday in NZ before I fly to Adelaide for Miss S's birthday (not that I have had an invite or anything) stay there a couple of days and then go back to Brisbane. That's the plan at this stage anyway.
It's very cool here today. grey clouds and some drizzly rain expected. I suppose we should expect it as winter is practically here.
Happy - Glad to hear that the shop is ticking over well. The unexpected donation must have been a big bonus in your day. Nice ladies.
Taxes are relatively straight forward in NZ as long as you know where you are at. The tax that I pay over here will be taken into account in Australia so I should have to pay too much over there and my well get a refund once the deductions take effect. I must say it is much easier to deal with the IRD in NZ than the ATO in Australia.
Susie - it is good to be busy since it makes the day go past very quickly, however it seems that you have so much stuff on your plate and they keep piling on more. There has to be a limit somewhere surely.
Hope the DH has his procedure soon and that all works out well.
Terra - disappointing about the misread on the scale, but you may also find measuring helps. I am now working towards measurements rather than weight since the scale is very rarely my friend.
Laura - Ferry out to Somes is only about 30 minutes or so. It's a nice trip on a good day. Not sure if I would like to be in that little boat when the weather is rough though.
Hope they get a new admin soon for you. It's not a lot of fun having to pick up anothers work when your own is still there.
Michelle - one thing about living south (or in your case north) but close to the tropic line is that you are going to get heat. You will have to acclimatise. Dogs do pretty well with that since they like to nap in the shade and as long as they have plenty of water they generally do okay. It's us humans that suffer because we insist on air con and heating and don't live with the seasons.
Ceejay - hoping that you and the friend have come to an arrangement as far as keys, alarms and accommodation goes. You need your own space. It is so hard to share when you are used to being on your own.
Guess that is about it. Coffee, breakfast and news are done. Time for some work for which I get paid.
Shad - I wouldn't complain so much about the heat...but it's really early for these super hot temps. Normally the SF Bay Area doesn't see heat like this until July or August, and last year we didn't see temps this high at all.
Michelle
I feel for you in those high temperatures. I dread summer because of this. Keep cool.
Shad
Don't blame you for not wanting to stick around if you don't have anything to do. But hey, I call that easy money.
Sorry to be complaining so much about my friend. I think it's just me and being single all these years and having someone come in and actually take over things is not my cup of tea. I will be getting my key back and saying no to the rest of her visits. She just texted me to see if I had the alarm on. Told her I'd be home around 7.30 She's asked again and I've told her the same thing. I don't want her in there by herself.
Can one you computer savy people tell me how to save or send a text message from cell phone to computer. I want to save the text message she and I had to put in my journal.
Morning all. Okay, the weather is crazy right now – we started the week with temps in the 80’s, and now it’s in the 40’s , blustery and rainy. But…I’m still glad it’s not winter! I wore my long trench coat this morning, with a scarf and gloves. I have my headband with me too, but didn’t put it on. I probably should have. Glad bf gave me a ride to the train.
Ceejay – Sorry things aren’t working out with your friend as a houseguest. If she needs to spend so much time here, it seems she needs to make different living arrangements?? She must feel like she’s imposing now that she’s been staying so frequently - I know I would. And isn’t the store’s landlord getting impatient for the store to finally be cleaned out so he can sell the building??! Re savings texts: I noted that I could hold my finger on a single text message and copy the words only to the clipboard and then paste it to an e-mail…not ideal – you don’t see the text message as it looks on the screen with date and time. I also did a quick google to see how to save text messages, but it looked like it required the download of some sort of app that would be used to back them up to gmail. I’m not that savvy, so it looked sort of involved to me.
Michelle – Sorry the heat is so bad for you at the moment. I hope it eases up soon!! Did you go to the library last night? I actually wouldn't mind an excuse to hang around the library for a couple hours, but not because the heat was keeping me from my home!
Shad – It would be really boring to not have enough to keep you busy, but it sounds like they are willing to pay you just to be available…like Ceejay said – easy money. On the other hand, a holiday before returning home sounds wonderful.
Happy – The protein powder we tossed was whey protein powder. I asked bf what the problem with it was, and he said that in general it could cause kidney function problems because of all the protein?? He has a brother with kidney issues, so he’s a bit wary now.
Hi Terra!!
Hellos to everyone else!
--
This past weekend I bought some freeze-dried banana slices (Trader Joe’s) and they are not my cup of tea. The flavor isn’t banana-y enough, and they leave bits stuck to my teeth and they also leave a funny taste in my mouth. I’m ready to leave the rest of the bag on the coffee room counter. Yuck. I’ll just eat fresh bananas.
Nothing much else to report. We have another interview this morning. That’s about it. Back to the grind.
Another quick check in....it will be a little cooler today...only up into the low to mid-90s. I'm meeting up with a friend from high school after work. She and I got together a couple weeks ago, but we still have a lot more catching up to do. It's great to reconnect with her.
Last night, I got a better off than going to a movie. D didn't have to work, so he and I went to dinner and a movie. We saw "Divergent", which I've been wanting to see for awhile. Now I want to read the book series. I really liked it. In some ways, it's kind of similar to "The Hunger Games", which I also liked. I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was good.
Today will be spent editing a lot of images that reference our former company name. So much to do and so little time, so I'd better get to it.
Laura - I know that high amounts of protein can be hard on the kidneys, and I would guess that if you have a family history of kidney issues, it is probably best to not overdo the protein. With diabetes, I have to maintain a fine balance of eating enough protein throughout the day (especially when I eat carbs) to minimize blood sugar spikes, and yet not too much protein.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning all,
Guys are outside digging up the concrete slab outside of the garage. The guy who patched it 2 years ago and guaranteed it would hold - didn't. So it's a complete dig up and new concrete. Ka-ching! - lots of money flying out of our wallets. Deck is falling apart and needs to be redone - and it covers 2/3 of our house. Ka-ching, ka-ching! The guy digging up the concrete lives just down the road and said he remembers this house being built. They built the basement too deep and had to put in special drain tiles around the foundation. DH said the cement in the basement floor is not how you'd normally do things when pouring a foundation so that explains that. Which means we probably need MORE drain tiles ka-ching, ka-ching, KA-CHING!!! And we will need a new roof within 3 years. DH is bummed. We are trying to figure out how we can spread out the repairs. Also gives some credence to the argument that you don't put basements into this area unless you have a lot of sandy soil which drains easily. But then again sandy soil shifts easily too so that leads to more "settling" type problems.
It's cool and overcast today - we have a chance of rain each day so that probably means not much in the way of drying sunshine which we need. I think they said the farmers almanac was predicting a cooler summer for us - much like last year. Considering the difference in our temps (even accounting for us being more north) compared with what some of the rest of you are experiencing right now that may very well be true. Although I will take rain over drought and 60's over 100's in the temp range any day.
Dryer buzzer just went off - let me get that before the clothes wrinkle. Be back shortly.
Hello
Laura
Thanks for the information. I may go to Verizon tomorrow to see if they can help.
Happy
Wow that's a lot of repairs.
--------
I went to the doctor this morning. I'd been having some more intestinal problems so this time he's sending me to Jonesboro for a colonoscopy. It's really past time for one but I keep putting things off. It's scheduled for July 8th. I will get my aunt and uncle to go with me. Talk about ka-ching. That's going to hurt the pocket book. I'll have to call the insurance company to find out about this. I hope it will not all go toward deductible.
My friend was more than pss'd. There is definitely one thing for sure I can't live with any one. Too set in my ways and want my own personal space to myself. She's supposed to bring my key back today.
I want to get out and mow the lawn. I just hope that it will be dry enough.
And by the way, I lost 5 pounds since the last drs. visit.
Glad DH decided on the ablation. It took a while afterwards until things stabilized for my DH - I think because you have to wait for the scar tissue to form and do it's intended work - but I hope that will work out for him. I also hope you can get some relief for your foot - definitely find another doctor!
Thanks for commenting on the Cheddar Bay biscuits - that reminded me I have 2 boxes I was eager to try. Hope you get some good info from your class today. 
Good keep-cool strategies for you and Santa. If our temps hadn't gone back down again, I would have insisted we turn on the AC, checkup done or not! Good luck with your "go-live drive". 
But…I’m still glad it’s not winter! 
