2017: A Year in Review

It doesn't feel like the end of the year without the Review!

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

After many years of hemming and hawing, I got my first tattoo!  It's a heart on my right wrist, made up by the boys' fingerprints.  I love it!!  I THINK I may be a "one and done" when it comes to tattoos, though.  

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" type of person.  I'm more of a "Make Plans and Goals" kind of person.  That being said....i made a goal of being healthier.  In some ways I did well--started drinking protein smoothies for breakfast and cutting back on the ice cream.  Then my stress-eating tendencies came out late in the year and well, My Fitness Pal shows me to be the same weight as I was last year at this time.  Turns out I'm a fantastic maintainer.  Goals for 2018?  Wag more, bark less.  Maybe get some more sleep, who knows.  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  I covered maternity leave for one of my co-workers, she had a baby in June.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?  Not close anymore, but one of the residents at my first property management job died in September.  We kept in touch for ten years after my leaving that job.  She was a wonderful person who dispersed fantastic advice, I'll miss her.  Traveling to that site will be weird, not stopping in to say Hi.  


5. What countries/places did you visit?

We had an AWESOME trip to Disney World in June!!  Can't wait to go again in a few years.  

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Honestly, 2017 was a shit show in a lot of ways.  I'd like for 2018 to be a kinder, gentler year for my family.

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?   On October 19th, my mother had a small stroke.  Things ended up being OK with time, but it was rough.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Instead of achievements, I'm going to call them lessons.  

A.  When it comes to your kids, it's amazing how strong you can be.  Especially when strength is all you've got, and what you really want to do is fold or crumble, but you stand strong.  

B.  I've always had a hard time asking for, and accepting, help.  I think it's because I'm usually doing to the offering and helping.  But when it hits the fan, you have to learn to let people help you.  And man, I had a lot of help this year.  I've had friends and family members flock out to help us get through stuff, and I'm forever grateful. 

9. What was your biggest failure?
I refuse to call anything a failure this year.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Nothing major.  


11. What was the best thing you bought?
For Mother's Day, Brian got me a cleaning service!  At first it was weird, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for someone to come to your house once a month and clean your bathrooms, floors, etc.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Skip.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Donald Trump, and many of his supporters.  Actually, the supporters were more appalling.   (this answer is too good not to keep)

14. Where did most of your money go?

Living expenses.  Pretty boring, right?  

15.  What did you really get excited about?

Disney World....and Universal Studios to see Harry Potter's Wizarding World.

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? A big ol' mix of all of it.

b) thinner or fatter? Right about the same.  (BTW, I hate this question.)

c) richer or poorer? Both, rich in some ways and poor in others.  It all offsets in the end.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Read.  Knit.  Socialize.  Maybe not in that order....

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work.  I took on a second property in May, and I covered a maternity leave and a manager vacancy this summer as well.  At one point I was providing coverage for FIVE SITES, bringing work home often, working long hours, going back after dinner, etc.  I often wondered "just how in the hell are you doing this, Ginny?"  But I knew all along that it was just for the short-term, and the bonus at the end of the year was worth it!

19. How did you spend Christmas?

We had a big family celebration at my house a few days before, and then my parents came on Christmas Day.  

20. Did you fall in love in 2017?

I've been in love with the same man for 19 years.  NINETEEN YEARS, holy crap.  

21. What was your favorite TV program? 

Eh....nothing really grabbed me to be a "favorite."  Though I do love that Will and Grace came back with new episodes!  

22. What was the best book you read?

I read 26 books, which sounds kind of low for me.  I really enjoyed "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  


23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pass.  

24. What was your favorite film of this year? 

The four of us recently went to the movies to see the reboot of the 90's film "Jumanji" and loved it!

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

For the first time in 12 years, I worked!  The residents had a cake for me, which was really nice.  I took the following day off so Brian and I could spend it together.  We ended up watching Wonder Woman and going out to lunch.  

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress and worry.  Getting my son the help that he needed sooner.  But hindsight IS 20/20, and not worth it to dwell.  


27. What kept you sane?
My friends, that checked up on us, fed us, offered help, listened, offered advice when appropriate.  My mom, for being there when my husband couldn't.  My husband, for his shoulder to cry on, and his jokes to keep us both sane. 


28. Who did you miss?
My far away friends and family.


29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Never ask "Could this get any worse?"  And above all, be grateful.  



30. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I don't know.

Roadblocks

I started this off by making a list of the things that have gotten in my way of finishing things at work today.  (missing info, not enough stamps, miscommunication, and finally, an epic fail in the "I forgot to order toner" dept.)  Instead, I'm going to go and pick up my younger boy at camp and spend some quality time with him.  And then I'm going to go to my knitting group, order my favorite salad and enjoy some time with friends and my knitting needles.  Tomorrow is another day!

Loading--Please Wait

Oh, my poor neglected blog.  What can I say?  Stuff happens, I want to write about it but then things get busy.  So here's some things that have happened.

-I took on a new property for my job.  Note:  I didn't get a new job.  I took on a SECOND property.  More work, (hopefully) more money.  So needless to say things have been BUSY!!  I start my days early and work late, last night I was here til 6pm.

-I went to this year's NERSC conference!  It was up in Rockport, ME, which was beautiful.  Not a lot of sun, but it is Maine in the spring, so what are you gonna do?  I walked the Samoset Breakway one day and that was breezy and the perfect ocean setting for a walk.  I spent an extra day up in Maine to visit friends, and all around had a good time.  An exhausing good time, and a good time nonetheless.

-TheWebs Tent Sale is coming up!!!  Or what I sometimes call "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year."  :)  I'm usually pretty organized about it, and have a list going months in advance.  Um....I made the list last week on the back of some junk mail and it has like four things on it.  I guess pulling my yarn stash out of the closet twice for the air conditioning repair guy (it's been replaced...yesssss)  has made me re-evaluate my yarn stash.  Somewhere my husband is jumping for joy...

-It's almost the end of the school year!!  Yep, limping along to the finish line.  More MCAS testing today for  my oldest, and my younger boy has his end of the year field trip next week.  What a year...it absolutely flew by.  Now we're back to making summer plans.

Well, now that I've read this, I've got to say....busy, but not super interesting.  Anyway, Happy Spring and maybe see you next month.

Not Just a Pretty Face

As I was walking around today with a screwdriver, removing air conditioning covers for the mini-heat wave we're getting, I remembered a little story from a couple of weeks ago that I thought bared repetition.

I went away for the annual work conference that I attend, and our work's Mother's Day celebration was two days upon getting back.  It was a bit hairy, trying to secure chairs/food/raffle prizes but it ended up working out OK.  I was lucky enough to get someone in attendance that had keys to the church next door and we were able to borrow tables and chairs.  Eve and I (Not her real name) were going to carry the chairs and tables ourselves.  Now, Eve is a senior citizen, and should NOT be carrying chairs and tables from the parish hall to our building.  She's pretty scrappy though, and insisted on helping.

As we exited the building, we ran into some plumbers that were doing some work in the parish hall.  They dropped what they were doing and offered to help.  One of them said that he of course would help such a pretty lady.  I thanked him profusely and he said "Well, I'm not just a pretty face.  I can do some heavy lifting!"  I said "OK.  But don't forget your saws-all, you left it in the parking space next to your truck."  He assured me that he wouldn't and then looked a bit bewildered and said "Lady, how do you know what a saws-all is?"  The response was only too easy.  "Well sir, I also am not just a pretty face."  LOL.

I pride myself on having a father who insisted on me having some knowledge about tools.  I also am proud to have a mother who has more than once taken Dad's tools and done the dirty work herself.

Wanna Get Away?

It's a tradition of ours to go to Pennsylvania to visit Brian's family for Memorial Day Weekend.  In our seventeen years together, we only ever missed it once.  (Brian went away with some friends for golf in SC)  This year, we decided last-minute to stay home, since we're going down twice in June.  The idea of not driving 200+ miles one way for a weekend, with kids and gas prices etc etc, it sounded like a good idea.  And it was!  We didn't do much of anything on Saturday, and it was a nice change of pace with how BUSY things have been lately.  We cleaned, we chilled.  I got tomatoes planted, as well as zucchini, green beans and cucumbers.  All was well.  We took the kids back to Six Flags on Sunday and had a VERY chilly day at the waterpark.  A pretty good weekend.

Yeah. All good things eventually must end.  Sean brought me my cellphone on Monday morning at 7:20am to tell me that it had been ringing.  ("It sounds like a haunted house, Mom!"  It's actually theme music from the Harry Potter movie)  Lo and behold, it's the answering service at work.  Their main location had a flood and they didn't have access to all of their phones and needed to have everyone forward their lines to their main number.  Yawwwnnnn.....throwing on some clothes to go to the office.  Finished in 20 minutes then went home to get a "better" start to the day."  Only to have my cell ring again at 1:20 and it's the on-call maintenance guy.  Now there's a flood IN MY OFFICE from the toilet in the apartment above.  Having just made lunch, I said I'd be there in 20 minutes to check out the damage.  Holy crap, the damage.  Ceiling tiles destroyed, and everything on top of my filing cabinet was trash:  My framed photos of the boys, invoices, work orders.....gone, gone, gone.  I'm more frustrated about the work order reports than the photos...I have copies and more frames at home.  Those reports take forever to write up!

I spent a big chunk of the rest of the day hoping that there wouldn't be a third call.  And there wasn't.  I can't decide though....was it better that we were home so I could go over right away instead of walking into this horror show first thing Tuesday morning?  I think so....but I'm looking forward to being away at this time next year!

Home is Where the Yarn Is

I'm back, and so glad that I went to this  conference!  I was a little nervous at first, going away for a few days.  But I got to know people that work for the same company better, and had a lot of fun along the way.  There were workshops, keynotes, dinners, and a lot of activities in-between.  First:  the location.

The Omni Mount Washington Hotel and Resort., Bretton Woods, NH

This place was INCREDIBLE.  It was built in 1902, complete with a ballroom and a former speakeasy.  How COOL is that???   Sadly, I didn't get to stay here because the place was booked faster than fast, lickety-split.  I stayed at another even older hotel about thirty minutes away.  It was a bit inconvenient, but I worked it out so that I only drove up to the OMW once per day and one of  my co-workers were gracious enough to let me store my dress for the Roaring 20's Dance Party in her room.  This means that I got up super-early each day and drove before breakfast and coffee, which was nuts.  It also meant that I knit in between workshop sessions which was of course wonderful.  

Here was my view after the afternoon workshop on Thursday:

Got home Friday afternoon and picked up the boys at school. They were so happy to see me and I them!  I think there was a bone-crushing hug or two in there.  :)  Traveling is always great, but coming home is the best part, to these two kids (and of course my husband, who held down the fort fantastically.  And looked really happy to be getting out of the house to play volleyball alone on Friday!)

Next year's conference is in Stowe, Vermont.  And I will definitely be going!

Here are my babes, "destroying stormtroopers" at the local mall.  

p.s.  Yes.  I did sneak in not one but two local New Hampshire yarn stores.  One in Derry on the way up and another in Concord on the way down.  Thirteen days and counting to the Webs Tent Sale!!

Heading Outta Town

My mind is jumbled, so my post today shall be too!

1.  Packing up for a Resident Service conference this week in New Hampshire.  I'm driving 3.5 hours north to spend three days with my fellow RSC's, attending workshops and doing fun things.

2.  This is the second time I've attended the conference, the last time I went was when I was pregnant with Will.  Every year since, there's been a reason not to go.  Hubby working nights, stuff going on at home, etc etc. I was anxious about going but applied for a scholarship anyway.  Was I ever shocked that I got it!

3.  Brian has got this all under control and they will be fine, and that there's some fun planned for while I'm away.  He's reassured me several times and I know they'll be fine.  I'll miss them, though.  In thinking of the fun they'll have, things are probably gonna get messy.

4.  That said, I will totally understand if the house is a disaster come Friday.  And I'm ok with it.

5.  I've decided the great debate....packing is worse than unpacking.  This is true for trips AND moving.  Time constraints, worrying about forgetting something on your way to the New Hampshire mountains/woods.....I could do without it.  Of course, had I not spent 20 minutes last night searching for interchangeable needle tips and the perfect skein of sock yarn for a pair of baby leggings that I want to make as a gift....that might've helped.  I never did find the specific skein that I was looking for, either.

6.  In planning my trip, you KNOW that I googled any local yarn shops in the vicinity.  Surprisingly, there were two, but they're both about 40 minutes away from where I will be staying.  So no yarn this time.  :(  That's ok, the TENT SALE is just a little over three weeks away!!!

Procrastinator by Nature

The title says it all....I'm so bad at getting things done on time.  I tend to lose myself in things and always think I have more time than I really do.  I'm guilty of unloading the dishwasher while waiting for a bagel to toast.....and then burning the bagel.  Supposed to be looking up something on my bank statement?  The computer only seems to go to Facebook or Ravelry as soon as I sit down at the keyboard!

I was spending a little snow day time flipping thru magazines and I came across an article published every month for the Happiness Project.  Forgive me, I get a lot of magazines and can't remember which magazine this came from.  Anyway, I read magazines in the order in which the articles catch my eye and the Happiness Project ones are usually one of the last.  I was reading it today though, and an idea for more happiness in your life resonated with me.  The writer had an idea for something called the Power Hour.

No, it's not an hour of exercise, but I could certainly use that too.  It's an hour-long exercise in the war against nagging things.   You know what I'm talking about when I say "Nagging Things."  Every woman in the world has that list of nagging things that never get done because there are other, better things to do.  The writer suggests taking an hour a week to do these things and by doing that, your happiness level will go up.

At first I thought....it's probably hogwash.  Then I thought back to some time in the past couple of weeks at work.  My housing certificates and our occupancy permit have been framed yet sitting on top of my filing cabinet for over a year.  I keep blowing the dust off them and thinking "Someday the maintenance super will hang these for me."  He splits his time between many housing sites though, and really only has time to "fight the fires" at any of them.  So one morning I said "Well, why the hell can't I hang them??"  I brought a hammer and some nails to work and voila!  My certificates now grace my wall.  I even got an inexpensive wall clock and hung it in the otherwise bare lobby.  Residents noticed it right away and remarked at how nice it looked.  What surprised ME is how much I noticed and how good I felt getting those things done!  Ok, I'm game to try this "Power Hour" thing.

Here is my list of naggy things.  Cleaning makeup brushes.  (I have sensitive skin but never take the time to clean them.)  Organizing my closet.  (there's at least a dozen pairs of shoes, a few scarves, perhaps some Christmas wrap and I know a yoga mat on the floor in there.)  Cleaning out the car and buying a new air freshener.  (the one I bought last week although works nicely, is the same scent as the one that I bought when Will barfed in the car two vacations ago, and now I associate that scent with THAT scent.  Sorry, Febreeze.)  Going through photos and uploading them to Shutterfly.    Clearing off the living room shelf from clutter and finding a place to donate our old curtains that I have folded and piled up, despite them not fitting a single window in this house.  Taking time to figure out what's wrong with the auto soap dispenser in our bathroom instead of just leaving it there and hoping that it repairs itself.  Going thru all of the kids books and weeding out the "baby level" ones that they no longer enjoy.  And the best one:  Sitting down and learning how to use iTunes to put music on my iPod for the car, instead of not knowing how and proclaiming myself 'Too Stupid to use iTunes!"  Today, I'm picking one and spending some time on it.  Can't wait for the "happy" to wash over me.  :)

The Plant Goddess

This is yet another example of why I love where I work.  It's not just because it's elderly housing, but the people are really nice and there's a big sense of community.  Everyone honestly looks after everyone else and enjoys each other's company, etc.

I came into work this morning and set about my usual routine.  (Turn off alarm, set up laptop, go make a cup of coffee while laptop is powering up and downloading emails)  While my coffee was brewing, I turned around to water the peace lily that Brian had given me when I transferred here from my last property.  (It was a surprise gift with a note that says "may you have some peace in your new job.  Very sweet!  I keep it in the community room because I have no windows in my office and it needs sun, obviously.)

Only this morning the plant was NOT THERE.  Just some dust on the table, along with a yellow ribbon that used to be on the basket.  I was livid!  I am not really good with plants, and I had managed to keep this one alive for a year.  I couldn't think of why someone would steal my plant, especially after all this time.  I checked the trash room, thinking someone might've thrown it away, but it wasn't there.  So I resigned myself to thinking that someone took it and got back to work.

About an hour later, one of my residents, "Muriel" came to see me.  Muriel keeps to herself mostly, spending most days in her apartment.  She ventures out only occasionally, usually because her daughter is taking her to the doctor.  So when Muriel came out today, she came to my office.  And my plant was on top of the seat on her walker!  I said "That's where my plant went!"  She said "Yes!  I took it last night and cut off all the dead leaves, and gave it a little bath and a long drink!"  She continued on to tell me how she went about it and why dead leaves are bad for the plant.  And I'll tell you, the plant looked as nice as the day that I received it.  I thanked her profusely and she smiled, and brought it back to it's place in the community room.

This is a nice story for two reasons.  The first is obvious, someone saw my plant getting a little neglected and gave it some tender loving care.  The second is that my plant gave Muriel a purpose, and she felt good about sharing her knowledge and doing something for someone.  That good feeling is twofold:  I feel happy that my plant is back, and happy to be surrounded by people who care about each other AND their building.  :)

The Twilight Zone

It has been a frustrating couple of days.  An absolute comedy of errors, if I was watching the events unfold on TV I'd probably laugh.

I ran out of toner at work yesterday.  I had a crap-ton of things to print out for a training that I had to take online, something like 300 pages.  Plus 15 of my tenants are coming up on their anniversary date (ohmygosh...is it that time already???) and must re-certify.  There's all sorts of letters and attachments for that.  Anyway....I got a message from the printer/copier that it was running out of toner.  Two seconds later.....OUT OF TONER.  No real warning, no "mercy printing" nothing.  When that sucker says it's out, it's truly "out." 

I had an appointment at my old job, and I had papers for the person to sign.  Only I didn't have any papers.  Nor could I print them out there.  So I did the only thing I could think of to do....I drove the 15 minutes home and printed them at home.  Where I had like 8 sheets of paper (made it, whew!) and my printer was making sounds like a freshly bathed cat.  Only to drive to the appointment to have the people not show up.  Ah well.

The copier company wouldn't be able to deliver the ink until tomorrow, and I needed it YESTERDAY.  So the rep said that I could drive over to get it.  So I headed into the city, to a seedy neighborhood and parked in front.  Only to find out that I had dimes for the meter and it took quarters.  I decided to live dangerously, being on deadline and all, and bravely crossed the street.  One door says "use other door" and points to the right.  I try that door.  It's locked.  Things are starting to feel very "Alice in Wonderland."  No one seems to be in the office....so I mutter "I don't have time for this crap" as I'm pulling out my cellphone.  Someone answers, sees me at the door and is yelling to me.  Only I can't hear her because the damn glass is so thick.  (Bad neighborhood and all.)  Finally I get that she's saying "I'm sorry...I don't have the key."  What the hell???  How did she get in, then?  Finally she asks my name and yells to the guy in back.  And proceeds to give me directions to the back of the building, which are of course muffled.

Walking around to a secluded part of the building in that neighborhood is like the last thing I want to do.  Is "toner" a new term for drugs?    Now I'm officially  a pissed off chick on a MISSION!  So I work my way to the back of the building, and the copier sales guy is there with my toner.  He's all apologetic, and tells me that "eight years ago his brother Roland changed the locks and refuses to give anyone a key."  Huh.  This is something that you could've mentioned on the phone, Dude.  "Come around back and give us a call."  Just sayin'.  But seriously too....eight years ago the locks were changed and no one has a key to the front door?  What in the hell would you do if there was a fire at the back of the building????? 

I go back to the office (without a parking ticket, thankyouverymuch) and proceed to wrestle with the toner and machine, only to discover that I'm trying to put it in upside-down.  I can't make this stuff up.  Now I've printed lots of things and I'm glad that ordeal is over! 

Holiday Randoms

How about a random post for the last day before vacation??

1.  The kids have been wild all week.  I blame the holidays coming, and the absolute lack of sugar.  ;)

2.  That being said, so far today I have had two cups of coffee, some Christmas cookies and am now working on a Coke.  The company also sent out an email that we can leave at 3PM today to kick off the holiday season.  I am ridiculously wired and ready to go off like a rocket!

3.  I've procrastinated on finishing the Christmas shopping.  Which is making me thankful for the early release from work, now I'll be able to cruise down the toy aisle at Target alone.

4.  What is it about going to Target alone that makes it feel kind of like a vacation? 

5.  This morning as I was helping Will put some gifts for his teachers in his bag, I had a big D'Oh! moment and realized that we didn't get anything for the afterschool program teacher.  With five minutes before bus time to spare, we wrapped up a Yankee Candle snowman votive holder and a new votive  from my candle drawer.  Score one for quick thinking!

6.  That being said, I am probably going to be a wee bit upset if Will comes home with all of the gifts still in his bag.

7.  The holiday knitting is complete.  I am quite glad that I reined it in this year, I cannot remember a year where I haven't been knitting til really late on Christmas Eve. 

8.  Christmas Eve is still three days away...hope I don't eat my words.  :)

9.  Christmas Eve is three days away.....and we're starting the wrapping tonight!  I've got a Netflix movie to keep Hubby and I company....if we could knock it out tonight I would be one happy lady.

10.  Why is it still not 3pm?  Seriously, a girl can only fool around with her Ravelry queue for so long. 

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

No Luck with Cookies

The bad luck streak started last week.  I was going to a meeting on Tuesday, that was also a potluck.  I had signed up to bring bean salsa and oreo truffles.  On Sunday, I just said to myself "Self....what are you trying to prove making oreo truffles?  Sure...they'd be amazing, but crushing oreos and dipping the finished product in chocolate sounds like a real pain in the rear."  Instead, I started flipping thru cookbooks and settled on a cookie bar recipe:  Caramel Revel Bars.  They were marked as a "really easy recipe that goes over big at potlucks!"  Well, sign me right up.  Monday nights after work are no time for a fussy recipe.

I'm responsible for picking up one of our two cherubs after work every evening, and anyone that's spent time with a toddler knows full well that it's much easier to get groceries alone.  With fifteen short minutes to complete my task, I rush into the grocery store.  That's when I realized that A.  I have six things on my list.  All of them have to do with the Caramel Revel Bars.  and B.  I had forgotten my cell phone at work.  Gah!  Any other day I wouldn't care, but the next day's meeting was over an hour away and I seriously needed the GPS application.

Ingredients in tow, I pick up Sean without incident and head home.  There my husband sweetly suggested that we all go to my office to get my phone, and hit up Wendy's for a quick dinner instead of cooking Eggplant Parmesan and THEN having to start cookies late.  Completed that task, then got down to the baking and then salsa-making!  (Seriously.  Why did I sign up to bring two things??)

Folks, recipes LIE.  Any recipe that involves chopping peanuts, making caramel sauce in one pan on the stove while you're melting chocolate in a double boiler on another is not an easy recipe.  If I were the scathing letter-writing type, the cookbook editor would be getting a doozy!  They did come out nice, though.  The bean salsa did too, despite the incident of me accidentally inhaling minced jalapeno and resorting to squirting milk up my nose to calm the burning.  Go ahead and laugh, it worked and that's all I care about!)

Then last night, Hubby and I started our holiday baking.  I had made sugar cookie dough the day before and it was resting in the fridge.  After a dinner of Beefy Ravioli Casserole (which even I hated, and I hate very little) I started rolling out the dough, and using cookie cutters.  Brian set up a Hot Wheels ramp for the kiddos, where they happily played while we cut out cookies, brushed them in milk and then sprinkled with colored sugar.  Christmas music on Pandora, tree lit....iconic holiday activity.  Everything was going swimmingly, and I expressed to my husband how well it was going and how much i was enjoying it.

Clearly I am an amateur.  You don't say shit like that while doing stuff like that.  Because as soon as we got the cookies half-baked, the power went out!  I actually threw my hands in the air and said "You've got to be kidding me!"  (disclaimer:  that's probably cleaned up for this blog.)  Luckily the batch came out OK and we gave the other ones on the counter a shot.  They took a very long time to bake.  The power came on about half an hour later, only to have me knock two boxes out of the cabinet, crushing several cookies.  That was the last straw, it made me want to pull my hair out and stomp on it.  But I didn't, I still have hair today.

The moral of this story:  read your recipes beforehand, and always wear gloves when working with hot peppers.  Oh, and never ask how anything could get worse.  That's a death sentence on a cookie sheet.  :)

Tale of the Cookie Thief

Since there aren't enough nice stories out there in the world, I bring you one from work.  You're welcome.

It doesn't start out very nice.  A few weeks ago I opened the freezer door at work to put away my lunch and discovered that someone has been pilfering cookies from the Entemann's boxes I had put there after coffee hour the week before.  One frozen cookie at a time.  I may have thought something mean along the lines of "Hope you broke a tooth, Cookie Thief!"  After a resident meeting a few weeks later, I put two leftover mini cupcake trays in there, with the intention of defrosting and serving them for the next meeting.  Next day, the cupcakes had vanished.  Not only that, all the cookies were gone.  Not just gone....the Cookie Thief had left the empty boxes in the freezer, along with some frozen crumbs.

I was incensed.  It's not like I haven't seen this problem at other sites before, I know of one place that had to buy a bicycle lock for their fridge in order to keep people out.  That looks unsightly though, so I settled on a sign.  I knew it wouldn't be very effective but it if I caught whomever was pilfering frozen goodies, I could say that there was a SIGN so you had clear INTENT to eat treats without care.  The sign was on gold-colored paper with huge block capital letters;  "PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE MANAGEMENT OFFICE."   Say it like you mean it, 'cept I will never be able to be a badass, because even when I'm telling you off I'm polite about it.  Some tact is required though, after all this is work. Had it been elsewhere it might've read differently.

Imagine my surprise....I came to work last week and opened the freezer to put away my Healthy Choice frozen dinner (blah) and there were two bags of walmart-brand chocolate chip cookies.  That's strange.  The next day:  two trays of mini cupcakes from the local grocery, one chocolate and one vanilla, decorated in fall frosting colors like the ones that had disappeared.

I often say that nothing surprises me in this business, that in twelve years I've pretty much seen it all.  But I was surprised, and I'd never seen anything like it.  So thank you, Cookie Thief, for either having a conscience or being terrified by my totally righteous sign.  I take back what I said about breaking your teeth on frozen cookies.

Blur

Things have been so busy lately, in a good way.  It's been leases, and new tenants and all the busy things associated with being a property manager in a brand new building.  Lots of kinks to work out but so far, I love it here and I think that the residents do too. 

We all need a little fun, not "work work work" all the time.  This past weekend, I went out with my college girlfriends for our annual "Salve Girls Night" trip.  This year it was in Newport, and I had forgotten how much I love Newport!  I hadn't been there in the summer since I was a kid, and it was certainly bustling with activity.  It's always so great to see my friends, and I wish it could be more than once a year.  This year we included kids (though mine stayed home) and made an afternoon of it.  At the end of the day, we decided that it should be Newport every year.  :) 

Then on Saturday, it was a knitting retreat.  I invited all of my knitting group friends to my mom and dad's cottage in Woodstock, CT.  Three came down to spend the night with me and Mom, and we grilled dinner together and knit til midnight.  The next day another person joined us and we had coffee and pastry by the lake and enjoyed some more knitting.  It was so wonderful, knitting for hours, sleeping til waking naturally.  I came home refreshed and relaxed. 

And then WHAM!  Back into another hectic week.  Will started a kindergarten orientation program this week, and so far he loves it.  Anxiety has not reared its ugly head, and this is a blissful thing.  In fact, he's so thrilled with his "taste" of kindergarten that he's ready to make a whole meal of it.  This was Nana's explanation to him when she picked him up yesterday, and I think that it's perfect.  Sean is jealous of kindergarten and every morning tells me how much he'd rather go to kindergarten too.  Poor buddy, wants to be just like his Bubby.  They are certainly in such a hurry to grow up. 

In a nutshell, things are crazy.  It's a good crazy though.

Moving Day

The Monday after vacation is always a doozy.  Getting over the "I slept in every day and now I have to get up early are you kidding me?" feeling is unreal today.  But it's Moving Day!  Not my moving day, I am going nowhere.  But tenants.  I have tenants moving into the building today!

It's kind of like the first day of freshman year at college.  You pull up a truck to the building, and family/friends help you move your stuff into your very first dorm room.  After everything gets positioned and bags/boxes emptied, everyone says goodbye and good luck.  Once the door closes, you have the sinking realization that you know no one, and feel alone.  So what do you do?  You wander into the hallway and start making friends.  Or you head down to the cafeteria.  Or you strike up a conversation with your roommate and find stuff to talk about.  Bring your boxes and bags to the trash room and run into people who are looking to make friends just like you are. 

Friday is the big annual "get-together" with my college girlfriends, and today I remember moving in that first day as I watch my new tenants come in with all their possessions and make friends.  It's such a funny feeling, to watch these "freshmen", these "Original 30."  Not that I'm signing 30 leases this week, just fourteen.  ("JUST??"  That's a lot in one week!) 

Murphy's Laws on Vacation

Good Ol' Murph....he's a pip.

According to Mr. Murphy, here are the rules on the week before vacation:

-one child must spike a fever.  The closer to departure day, the better. 

-There needs to be ridiculous busyness at your job.  Between transitioning from one site to another, processing files and getting the stage set for signing the first eight leases on August 1st (Because I am crazy to sign eight in one day, that's why), the big Dedication Ceremony for the new building on Saturday, I am a feeling a little nuts.  Just added:  there's going to be a big meeting next week for government employees here because it is a good central location for three of their offices.  Smack me now.

-There is one thing that you are forgetting to do, despite reminding yourself several times a day.  Mine is putting things on the shopping list for our next trip to Target, and remembering to stop the mail.

-The packing itself....something is bound to disappear or break between now and then.  Or as you are pulling onto the highway you realize that someone's swimsuit is still hanging on the dryer rack.  Last year on the way down to PA to drop the kids off so we could go on our cruise we forgot the diaper bag.  We remembered in New York, resulting in a $75 trip to Target for a new bag and supplies.  Not our proudest moments. 

But in the end, it will all be worth it.  Right now is the time of year that we're itching to get away.  It's going to be a fun trip and result in happy memories for the boys, Mom, Dad and Nana!

Car Conversation

I'm sometimes surprised what random topics Will brings up in the morning on the way to school.  Today's was explaining the difference between throw-up and spit-up.  I actually remembered the term "reverse peristalysis" from college bio!

Other topics from the past:

-How little French Mommy knows.  I was able to teach him "hello," "goodbye" and "Without cheese."  Why the heck do I know "Without cheese??"  I love cheese.  Honestly, I should know how to say "If you don't want your cheese, can I have it?"

-Inventing our own broadway-type show.  It was pretty cool, it featured tossing projectiles at the audience.  We called it the "Throw Show."  We did this like two years ago and he brings it up occasionally, with improvements that he's been working on.

-How if the Muppets married the Fraggles, they'd be called the Frappets.  I got giggles out of this for days.

-Occasionally Will will ask how the maintenance guy at work  is doing, they've bonded a few times when Will came to work with me.  Jose taught him how to drink from a glass "Like a man" as he puts it.  He also showed Will how to photocopy his hand one day when Will was sick and at work with me, it's a fond memory of Will's.   "Mommy, how's your Jose?"  The best yet:  "Mommy, when you got to your new job, will your Jose go with you?"

Hallelujah!

We all have guilty pleasures.  Mine are bath products, office supplies and of course, yarn.  I am a sucker for places like Bath and Body Works, which is why I only go one or two times a year when there's a sale.  I don't need to elaborate further about my yarn habit, it needs no repeating!  And office supplies....I used to love back-to-school time as a kid because it meant getting a new box of colored pencils and perhaps a Trapper Keeper.  Or notebooks, pretty folders, and perhaps some Lisa Frank erasers.  (I'm smiling just thinking about his)

But do you know what's even better than that?

Unpacking this huge pile of boxes from WB Mason, full of supplies for my new office.

That's right, my new office.  Progress has officially brought me to sitting at a desk at the new place, taking phone calls on my shiny new phone, and meeting with people to have them pick out their new home.  Six people have selected apartments, and I (hopefully) will start signing leases in the next two weeks. 

My last day of work at the other property is slated for July 13th.  It's a Friday.  How appropriate is that???

So, the thing that I've been hoping and praying for for the past two years?  A new job, out of the city and back in elderly housing?  The thing that I have been obsessing, fretting, worrying and basically in the fetal position over for over a year now?

It's finally happening, and it is a beautiful thing.

No Time!!

I got an email at work last week about an upcoming Manager's meeting.  My job has these from time to time, all-day trainings for their manager's on a variety of topics.  Me?  I'm ridiculously busy, and was going to try to opt out, especially since the main focus was a Time Management Seminar.  Plus, even though it was a half-day meeting instead of the full-day, it's always a full-day for me between the distance to drive and the mind-rotting traffic from anywhere in Central MA to anywhere in eastern MA. BUT there was something else important to be covered too so I sighed and put it on my calendar.

Was I glad that I did.....it ended up being a pretty good training.  For one thing, I can certainly get comfy with a trainer that calls his program:  "Time Management:  The Seminar I don't have Time For."  Yes, that's about right.  Throughout the training I was in awe over how many things related to my everyday life.  It turns out, my "time management" is an absolute train wreck.  Distractions?  Yes.  Time suckage?  Yep, Yep.  Overwhelming burnout as to what to start first?  Oh my, yes.  Disorganization killing your productivity?  Cripes, did this guy follow me around for a day or two??  Tips were offered to battle all of these things.  I only hope that I can implement some of them.

One thing that we touched upon was the statement that he made that we are all slaves to email.  That little "DING! you've got new email" sends a lot of people running to see what's come up.  it's a distraction for sure.  And the amount of email.....ugh.  My work account alone has over 200 messages sitting in the inbox right now. And that's down from the 500 that I had pared it down from recently.  All of them are open, and just sitting there.  And I can't seem to find the time to go through and save or delete!  My "file pile" at work.....it should be more aptly named "mess pile."  I leave my desk in shambles every night as I walk out the door, usually running behind in picking up one of the kids.  I have no preparation for the next day, personally or professionally.  No wonder I'm flopping like a fish out of water.

This was a big eye opener.  Today, when I get to work after housing court, I'm going to sit down and start implementing some changes.  It's high time to determine what's important and needs to be done and what just isn't worth worrying about.  It's time to slowly get organized and be ruthless with piles at the office and clutter at home.  Free myself of the clutter both physically and mentally, so I can focus on the things that need to get done and spending more quality time with family and friends.  It's going to be a long road, but I feel prepared for the journey.

Friday the 13th

On tap for this Friday the 13th:

-Started tours of the new building for potential residents yesterday.  It's kind of fun taking people through a brand new building, showing them where they're going to live.  Oohs and aahs over closet space and the "brand spanking newness" of everything.    Two more tours today.

-My poor Sean has a bug.  Nothing serious, just a fever that doesn't seem to want to go away.  Hubby and I took turns staying home yesterday, he went to work in the morning and I went in the afternoon.  Today he is getting some "Nana and Papa time" and hopefully will be on the way to his normal self.  Poor kid.  :(

-Dinner with an old friend tonight...one that I haven't seen in a few years.  I'm really excited!  Topped off with a spa reservation tomorrow for a massage and facial.  Ahhhh.....if Sean felt better this would be the perfect start of the weekend.

-Last but not least:  babies, babies everywhere!  There's a new bumper crop of babies to knit for in the upcoming months, three of my friends are due in 2012. Goodness, I love knitting for babies.  I've got patterns and yarn to peruse, people!    Still working on that shopping list for the upcoming Tent Sale at Webs next month, and it's growing.  :)