saef YAY on the job, you won't screw up...because you care enough to worry that you'll screw up...you won't. VIP has been listening to pod casts on leadership for years (listening while doing a reno instead of the radio). I think it's called "manager-tools.com". I've listened to it while we've been driving and it's not bad.

Megan1982 "Allergic to sugar" is a good line...many of my girlfriends already know that I 'was' pre-diabetic so saying 'no' makes them listen. It helps that I work with a ton of uber fit or health consicious people that when I say 'no' they listen too. I've had the 'food pushers' and I usually say "I heard about people like you at my TOPS group!"...they'll laugh but they back off :)

We were just talking about chocoholics at work this morning, a few people I know can have a teeny tiny bit but I can't start. Before I couldn't have it in the house, now if I just don't start it I'm fine. Eating all the girl guide cookies (or at least all the chocolate ones) has been known to happen in my house!

Just getting over a sinus infection...looking forward to being over it so I can go outside and enjoy some winter activities. Hoping to go cross country skiing this coming weekend.

Saef, congratulations! The number of new hires that you mention being given to train, in addition to your obvious work ethic and the amount of time you dedicate to your job, makes me think this promotion is long overdue. You've probably been doing a lot of this new position for a long time, without the title and additional pay. Also you seem to have good communication skills. From my posts last week I'm sure you know that I believe communication is the start, middle, and end to successful professional relationships. You'll do great. Kudos! :carrot:

Saef, congratulations! I'm sure you will do fine with the new job. There are lots of books out there about how to manage people. If you know someone who is a manager and whose style you like, ask them for recommendations.

Megan, I love your technique with the doggie playmates on the beach. Great way to get your pup lots of exercise!

Speaking of winter weights, I think Carter has gained some weight. He begs for more food in the winter so we've been giving him a little extra to get him to stop begging (I know, I know, reinforcement, etc.). We had our cooking club over yesterday and someone commented that Carter looked heavier, so now we're just giving him green beans if he wants more food. I'm afraid of him getting heavy again because I think it contributed to his back injury.

Dagmar, you must have gotten the ice/freezing rain that passed us up over the weekend. We were supposed to get freezing rain yesterday but lucky for us it warmed up enough to just be regular rain.

Re: Girl Scout cookies, the sign-up sheets have appeared at work. I have a rule that I will not buy girl scout cookies unless an actual girl scout conducts the transaction! So unless I happen to come across boothers or someone comes door-to-door, there will be no cookies for us. We almost never get door-to-door girl scouts and I almost never see boothers, so we'll probably be safe.

Re: the budgeting discussion (was that last week's thread?) -- I've never really created budgets for myself, but my parents taught me that the only acceptable way to use a credit card was to pay off your balance in full each month, so I never spend more than I can pay off right away. We will need to be much more careful about budgeting once the kids arrive and DH quits his job, because it is basically going to cut our income by a little over 50%. It's probably time for me to invest in budgeting software (or hey, get DH to write some to keep up his skills while staying home with the kids).

Jessica - I use Quicken to track my bank accounts, credit cards, student loan, mortgage, etc. They have some pretty good budgeting and payoff features in there, and with the 2013 version they have a tablet app that is supposed to be fantastic. I don't use the budgeting part much though, I've done my best work on those with spreadsheets I've created. I know people who use the Quicken budget though and love it.

Congratulations, saef! I'm sure you'll do just fine. However, the worst part is when you have to reprimand or fire an employee.

I never really budgeted. Back when the kids were little, the priority was to make sure we were fed, clothed and housed regardless of how much I had to charge on credit cards. We did end up with a lot of debt but nowhere near where my neighbor was (they had to take out a second mortgage to pay off their credit cards). These days I pay off everything every month (except for mortgages). I remember using the "convenience checks" from one credit card to pay off another credit card. So glad I don't need to do that any more!

SLC had freezing rain last week that ended up closing the airport for several hours. Have I said lately how happy I am that I don't live where it is cold? Yeah, that!

I was just informed that next Sunday we won't have the in-laws for dinner as they are getting together with other friends for a Superbowl party. I guess that means I don't have to do any special finger foods, which is a bonus in my book! I envision an afternoon nap!

Jessica~how long does your DH intend to stay home with the girls?

Allison, we're not sure. It will largely depend on how much he likes being home with them, I think. The cost of quality full-time daycare for two infants is more than half his current salary, and he didn't want them to be in daycare full time anyway. If he hates being home with them obviously we'll change plans, but if he likes it he'll probably be home at least a couple years (or possibly work part-time). After that point the daycare costs go down significantly compared to infant daycare, so we might reevaluate. Our field of work has been pretty hot the past few years so we don't anticipate him having a problem finding a job or getting his old job back if he wants to work again sooner.

Jessica-- I love that your dh will be a stay-at-home dad! I hope he loves it and stays home for awhile with them. They will be much happier and healthier with daddy than in day care.

My appetite is also raging today or perhaps it is just that I'm at my desk rather than with classes. I need to cut it out.....

We also had years of credit card debt-- it started with having to buy big purchases after we married like washer, dryer, fridge, and then we had years of infertility. We would use one credit card to pay another. It wasn't good. We finally paid everything off and I refuse to charge if I can't pay it off. We have a mortgage and car payments, but no revolving credit card debt. I'm trying to teach my dd's this very important lesson so they don't have to learn the hard way.

Saef!! YAY! A huge congrats! They hired you for a reason - because you will ROCK! Cut the self-doubt out :)

Am I the only one who doesn't like Girl Scout Cookies? There are lots and lots of cookies I do like, but GSC are kind of "Meh..." for me!

I did really well on diet and exercise the last couple of weeks and got down to the weight I was seeking, but have felt extremely tried and worn out today - barely made it through my noon workout, so I'm wondering if I've been over-doing it some. Plus I'm STARVING despite a good breakfast and lunch!

Jen

Oh Jen, the actual taste of the girl scout cookies is kind of 'meh' for me most of the time, too. I think the draw is memory rather than enjoyment. Which I don't guess is a good thing. :)

I'm not a big fan of GSC either. I never buy them because they're ridiculously expensive. My friend's daughters are in scouts and their troops sell nuts at some point, so I buy those and give them to the squirrels.

saef, congrats on getting the promotion. It's inconceivable that you will fail at this so try to enjoy the challenge. As a long-time wage slave, I'll second Megan's position that communication is the key for good relationships between staff and managers.

Sheila, I'm the one who got the Marmoleum click floor. It's lovely and feels great underfoot. I've had no problems with it getting wet, as long as water doesn't stay on it for any length of time. It's just that it looks smeary all the time. Perhaps I didn't put the right sealer coat on it when I first got it, I don't know.

dagmar, I hope the weather wasn't as bad as you feared today. We got a little snow and now it's warm enough to be almost rain - no sleet or freezing rain, much to my relief.

Megan, I love the idea of you trolling the beaches for playmates for your dog. It sounds like a beneficial arrangement for everyone!

Shannon, I use Quicken as well. It's fairly inexpensive and is a pretty good tool. I'm the only one in my family who has ever managed to live within her means. I pay off my credit cards every month, even if it means dipping into my savings (which happens when the vet bills get too high or some other emergency arises). I've also managed to put about $25K into my house over the past few years in repairs and renovations without taking out a loan, so I feel pretty good about that.

After a bad week, emotionally and physically, I'm ready to get back to my daily exercise routine. I think I got in only 3 days of workouts last week. Ugh. So it's time to get off the computer and on the bike.

congrats/dog stuff
 

saef :congrat:

Megan What you're doing with Emma for playmates is quite normal here. When I'm dogsitting and it's the weekend (no regular playmates) I take the dog I'm with to the dog park and actively seek someone for the dog to run with.

So I tried to introduce the Turkish dog - Bulut - to the young goldens yesterday. Extreme fear reaction. Growling, hackles up, lips pulled back from teeth, etc. The goldens, bless their simple little heads, were totally unimpressed.

But Bulut is totally good with humans - strange for a street stray. I was in quite a state after the previous fiasco of a walk and, without thinking, put her coat on while she was growling and snarling and raising her hackles at the goldens. We were in a tiny vestibule at the time. Any other dog would have bitten me. Not her.

She is going to take a lot of time. I figured out the reason she is so reactive is that she is on leash when she sees, hears, meets other dogs and can't flee (her normal reaction apparently). So I will give her a potty break only and we'll see what happens. I can not picture her going out with any of my groups at this time (I walk a LOT of bossy loud reactive female dogs) but i do have occasional single walks late in the day and on the weekend so we might try her there.

Each new animal is a puzzle. She will let us know what she needs. Right now she is getting used to her new "home" very quickly. I hope she transitions as well into her "forever" home. What a journey!

Yoga time! And out into the "regular" rain - two days of it. I will be quite relieved when all of this weird spring/winter weather is over.

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Is the superbowl on Sunday? Oh darn, I volunteered to serve concessions at my community theatre's matinee performance. Bummer. I will be so sad to miss yet another football party. (:devil:) I'm actually quite glad I volunteered to serve for all 3 performances this weekend. I need a weekend where I don't feel compelled to drink "because it's Friday night!" etc. Having to be responsible will keep me on the straight and narrow.

Girl Scout cookies are nostalgic for me. My mom and a few other moms thought we should have a troop, so they formed one for me and many friends and I have a lot of good memories. My dad always bought lots of cookies, whether during our GS years or before/after. I do love the thin mints, frozen, but the rest are not that great to me. I really have never been a fan of pre-packaged stuff. My mom was a great baker and it spoiled me for life, which is probably better for me now. It helps me say "that's not a special treat, I don't need it" and walk away from a lot of baked goods.

Dagmar, I'm sure Bulut has had a tough life but she sounds very adaptable. Plus, it's really great that despite her fear she is not violent/lashing out at the dogs or you. I know you can work with that. ;)

Jen, when I get that starving and worn down feeling, I try to ease it by consuming some extra healthy fats since they really help fill me up and help my body repair itself after exercise. Do you feel better today?

Steph, did you feel better after your bike ride yesterday? Those exercise endorphins always feel so good to me.

Michele, great job on the skinny jeans! :carrot:

Megan , I love to bake. cookies especially but I keep that to a minimum now as I can't eat just one. I am a former Girl Scout and I cannot resist the Thin Mints ! I won't go looking for them but if I see someone selling them I will cave.

There are a lot of varieties of Girl Scout cookies out there, but I only like three: Samoas, Thin Mints, and Tagalongs. The rest have zero draw for me. :shrug:

Dagmar, Bulut sounds a little like Carter. He is fear-aggressive with strange dogs when he is on a leash and feels trapped. He does much better if he's not on a leash, but only if the other dog approaches him politely (i.e. doesn't come straight at his face or crowd him).

Speaking of Carter, it's been nearly two years since his back injury/surgery (as of this coming weekend) and he's still chugging along! Even though the surgery recovery was pretty traumatic, I'm glad we did it and still have him with us. :love: We spent about 15 minutes last night hiding his nylabone in different places around our bedroom and watching him dig it out. Endless entertainment!

Jen, sounds like maybe you need to adjust your food to support your workout habits. Are you doing a lot of cardio? If so, are you getting enough carbs? Are you having a post-workout recovery snack?

Michele, I hope DH likes staying home with the kids too! When we talked about one of us staying home it seemed like the obvious choice because I like my job and he hates his, and we make about the same amount of money. I'm hoping he can find a stay-at-home-dad support group either online or locally.

Relatedly, we went to a local multiple births support group last night. From their website I thought it would be whole families meeting there, but it turned out to pretty much be all moms and a couple babies (DH was definitely the odd one out!). I think we'll join in any case. They have basically a social group meeting for the moms of older kids, but they have a support group for expecting moms and moms of kids under 8 months which I think could be really valuable for us, and they said it's fine for DH to come. They also organize play groups which will be good down the line.

Jessica, I applaud you and DH for one of you staying home with the twins. I firmly believe that no one cares for and loves our children as much as their parents. I am not critisizing those who find it necessary to have child care, I just think if you have a choice parents are better. On a personal note I did not someone else to be the one to hear the first word or see the first steps..