Category Archives for Me

High Hopes for 2012

I think 2012 is going to be my year.  I feel a bit ungrateful complaining about the other years, but there have been some challenges.  The biggest challenge for the last year or two has been the lack of time, resulting from my job.  It’s not my company’s fault…I take full responsibility, but I got myself into a situation that I had a tough time getting out of.  I had my “day job,” managing my team of 6, and with my other blog I had created my “night job,” teaching people about building code requirements (and other door-related stuff) and answering questions for people around the world.

The work I did in my night job was very beneficial to my industry and company, but it was not my official job.  The information that I provide is almost impossible to find elsewhere, and I couldn’t turn away people who needed help.  But between both sets of duties, my family, and my attempt at sleeping 6 hours per night (instead of 4), I couldn’t manage it all and this blog has suffered.  Since I see this blog as a family chronicle, it pains me that I haven’t been able to keep it up.  The memorable moments and funny situations are still happening, and I hate that I’m not capturing and sharing them.

Well, things are looking up.

About 2 weeks ago I asked human resources for a meeting to discuss making my “night job” my official job.  I explained what I do and why it was valuable to the company, and the additional work I’d be able to do if it was my “real” job.  I had no idea that they were in the middle of planning a reorganization, and that I would be receiving an offer for an expanded role the following day.  Bad timing.  As thankful as I was to receive the offer of a promotion, I knew that it would leave me with even less time to do everything else.  So I asked for a decision on the new job I proposed before making a decision about the job I had been offered.  It felt a little risky to be the fly in the ointment but I needed to know.

Just over a week later I was offered the job I had asked for, reporting to a great guy that I’ve know since 1984 and work very well with.  I don’t have any people to manage, and my boss only has me to manage, so we’re a team of 2.  It’s up to us to decide what I should work on next, so I will have a lot of control over what I’m doing.  I wouldn’t change one thing about the job, and I’m so excited to be able to have a job doing what I love to do.  It’s very validating to have the company support me and understand how the things I do add value for our customers.  I’ll still be working hard but I hope it will be a little less overwhelming and give me more time for the things that have fallen by the wayside.

On a related note, my other blog was chosen from among the other President’s Award winners to be considered for a Chairman’s Award.  I think it’s a long shot that I’ll win, but the exposure has been great and just being nominated is an honor.

I didn’t make any New Years’ resolutions this year, but I have high hopes that I can make some progress on reclaiming the house from the pack-rats and the marker-wielding graffiti artist, continue to improve my physical and mental health, and get back in the habit of sharing our family’s events – big and small – with you.  It looks like my other project, the long-awaited book related to my work, is going to be used as the text-book for an upcoming industry course, so that’s added motivation to get it done.  I’m just waiting on the course outline so I can put the information in the proper order. 

I think 2012 is my year.  I hope it’s your year too.


Better

As I mentioned in my last post, I took the week before last off, which actually meant that I worked about 4-6 hours per day instead of the usual.  The week of reduced pressure followed by Thanksgiving week which is typically not very busy at work, really helped me catch up on a few things and catch my breath.  There’s something about having the “out of office”  message on that makes me feel less harried.  When I get an email I can picture the person on the other end of the internet staring at their screen waiting for me.  Maybe I should keep my out-of-office on all the time.

I didn’t clean and purge as much as I had hoped, but I did organize the year’s photos and start working on the annual photo book.  The 50% off coupon ends on November 30th, so that’s a must-do.  I also sent a thousand old photos to ScanMyPhotos.com because I had a Groupon that was expiring.  I even took a 2-hour photography class last Sunday.  I’ve still got a lot to learn, but we spent the whole class in manual mode so that was empowering.

I got one giant pain out of the way, which was taking the kids to Portrait Simple for the annual photo shoot.  Oy, that is my own little version of hell.  The clothes, the hair, the accessories, the whining, the fake smiles, the grimaces…at least now I know why the school pictures always look so bad.  By the way, if you were planning to use the black fabric background for your family photos, you can blame my kids for pulling it down.  Sorry about that.

In the two-week period I went out to lunch 3 times with people who are important to me.  We also had a great Thanksgiving with the Pearce Crew, Ben’s sister, and 3 of Ben’s coworkers who are here from the Costa Rica office for a few months.  Good food, great company, and just enough wine to give me that warm, happy feeling and no hangover.  While I was in Happyland, Norah used Aliya’s glitter squirt bottle to decorate the entire second floor, so if you see any glitter on me, don’t bother mentioning it.  I will likely have glitter somewhere on my body for the rest of my life.

I am back in my 3x/week Zumba routine now that soccer is over.  I also went to the chiropractor twice, the acupuncturist twice, and had a cupping treatment.  If you aren’t familiar with cupping, it’s a bunch of little suction cups stuck onto whatever ails you (my upper back).  The suction releases the tension and is supposed to also release toxins.  It’s pretty intense but I always feel better afterward, even though my back is covered with big hickeys.  I also got my mammogram out of the way, made an appointment for Adlani to see if he really does have ADHD, and did some research on ways that we can help him be more focused in the classroom.

We had visits from 3/5 of the Libby family, as well as Poppi…all had their fill of soccer at the last games of the season, along with a trip with the Libby’s to the MFA where I got to see all of the hardware I specified in action, and a great dinner at Scampo.  Speaking of soccer, Ben’s team won the final game to become the Over the Hill League champs in their division.

I started working on Christmas, including finalizing the plans for our trip to a secret location, finishing some gifts, a little shopping, and getting organized for the Pathways Family Shelter holiday gift drive.  We have over 50 kids to shop for this year, and luckily I have scores of generous friends, family members, and coworkers who all pitch in to make it happen.

I even read most of a book – Discovery of Witches, and watched some trashy TV while crocheting.  I worked on the drama club website and helped at rehearsal without guilt.  I’m sure there were other things, but that’s all I can think of.  I’m starting to understand why I’m a nutcase all the time.  Now the question is, how to fix it.  How do I do all that I want to do, and also take care of the world’s hardware needs and keep food on the table?  I’ll have to continue working on that in 2012.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

OFIF!

It really bugs me when people go around cheerily exclaiming “TGIF!”  Really, you’re THAT happy that it’s Friday?  My mantra on Fridays is OFIF – “Oh f*ck, it’s Friday.”  Next time I hear, “TGIF!”, I think I’ll respond with a cheery “OFIF!” of my own.

I used to love Fridays.  I may have even said TGIF myself a few times back in the day.  There are probably people out there who still hate me for it.  In my late teens, Fridays meant cruising Main Street, going parking, and getting some 18YO seniors to buy us Boone’s Farm (sorry Mom).  In my 20’s, Friday nights were for going out in search of fun and romance.  Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays were for the same purpose, but on Fridays we knew we could sleep until 2 pm the next day (remember those days, Sherry?).  In my 30’s, Fridays meant that I had a couple of days to catch up, with no new emails or to-do list items being added to the pile.  I could start Monday fresh as a daisy.  I think the last time I was fresh as a daisy was in early 2001.

Up until sometime last year, Friday night was “my night.”  After a long hard week (meaning, every week), Ben would and the kids would pile into our king-sized bed to watch a movie, and end up falling asleep.  I would clean up the house, drink wine alone on the couch, and sleep in the guest room.  Ahhh…the good old days.

So how did I get from TGIF to OFIF?  Well, I’ve lost my taste for Boone’s Farm, if I get caught cruising Main Street in my company ride after a few wine coolers I could end up car-less, searching for fun and romance has lost its luster now that I’m old and married, and nobody can agree on a movie so the movie night tradition has been abandoned.  It would take so long to clean the house that I would pass out before I got the wine uncorked, and to top it all off, there’s one thing that I HATE the most about Fridays…finding the f-ing soccer uniforms.

Some of you are reading this and thinking, “What’s so hard about finding soccer uniforms?”  I hate you.  Ok – I don’t hate you…just your ability to keep your house and your family’s belongings clean and organized.  I try, I swear – I try so hard.  But the soccer uniforms consist of 6 socks, 6 shin guards (some of those f*ckers are two pieces!), 6 cleats, 3 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 3 water bottles, and a ball.  28 pieces!  We also need 2 chairs, a blanket, snacks, jackets, coffee, sunscreen, bug spray, and sometimes umbrellas.  And – directions to Aliya’s away games.  And – sometimes the oranges for the team half-time snack.  And my camera, with a charged battery and an empty SD card.

Then there’s the little problem of scheduling.  We now have 3 kids in 3 different age groups for the first time.  Tomorrow, Norah has practice and a game from 9-10:30.  Aliya and Adlani both have games at 10:30 and need to be at two different fields by 10:10.  Thank God we finagled Norah’s way onto a team with several friends who can help us out.  We have game conflicts every single week.

Tonight we spent at least 40 minutes looking for the 28 pieces, and we are still missing a pair of socks.  It would be one thing if I wasn’t a planner, but I am.  Last week I sent Ben to the sports store with a written list – a #3 ball for Norah (he came home with a #4 and a #5), 2 pairs of cleats (Norah didn’t have any and Aliya’s were so disgustingly smelly that the skunk moved out from under our porch), and AN EXTRA PAIR OF NAVY BLUE (VERY DARK BLUE) SOCKS FOR EACH KID.  Ben got an extra pair for Aliya only – the kid least likely to lose her friggin socks.  He is to blame for my despair.  OFIF!

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In other news, Norah started kindergarten this week and LOVES it.  Her biggest concern on Day 1 was that Ben didn’t know how to get to the school or would forget to pick her up.

And to make my life complete, Adlani said to me this morning, “Mom, how come you never have any time for us?”  HUH?  EXCUSE ME?!  Adlani:  “Why does Dad always pick us up from the bus?”  Me (in my mind only):  “Well Adlani, that’s because I live through the Morning Hell, and Daddy tries to survive the Afternoon Hell.  If one of us tried to manage both, we’d surely burst a blood vessel and expire.”  And for you – yeah you right there – the one who’s judging me right now – I hate you.  No seriously, I really do.

My 4th Baby

One of the big reasons that I haven’t had as much time as I used to for this blog, is because of my 4th baby – my work blog.  I started it 2 1/2 years ago, and I’ve been posting on it at least 3 times per week ever since.  It has been very successful in reaching our customers and creating real relationships with them.  This review of my blog that was posted on a building product marketing blog pretty much says it all.

Last week I found out that I won the IRST President’s Award in the Leadership category for my work blog.  What’s most exciting about this is that the company is starting to see the value of social media and blogging.  For a big, conservative company like ours, that’s progress.

I made a video of the announcement of the award on the president’s global webinar so I can keep it on the mantle and force the kids to watch it periodically.  🙂

Both of the presidents actually talked about my blog on the call, so here are both clips for posterity.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8FPCgjINq4?rel=0]

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=219q2CpJUcw?rel=0]

Open up and say AAHcupuncture

I’ve been feeling a little stressed out lately. Actually, a lot stressed out and for quite a while. Over a year ago I started sleeping an average of 6-7 hours per night instead of 4-5 because I was feeling really crappy and guessed that the sleep deprivation had something to do with it. Eight months ago I started taking vitamins, including B12 to hopefully fix my deficiency and the weird symptoms. Four months ago I went cold turkey without caffeine. Three months ago I went to the endocrinologist for the very first time, even though I’ve had a thyroid problem for almost 20 years. I feel better, but not 100%.

When Norah was diagnosed with Graves Disease, one of the many things we did to try to help her was to take her for acupuncture (actually more like acupressure since she was so young). I really loved her acupuncturist, Robert, who is just awesome. I had a massage a couple of weeks ago (another attempt at stress relief) and the massage therapist knows Robert and said, “He seems like he can just look at you and know what’s going on.” When I first met Robert, I had to fill out a long questionnaire about Norah, and I commented that I had a lot of the symptoms on the questionnaire. He said, “All parents need acupuncture.” A couple weeks ago I finally decided to give it a try.

I showed up for my first appointment, not sure what to expect – Norah’s treatment was different from an adult’s. Robert had me sit in a sheet-covered recliner and then he checked my pulse in my left wrist and told me to stick out my tongue. When I did, he sat there peering at it until it started to freak me out. When I asked what my tongue was telling him, he asked me to stick it out again. After he took my pulse in my right wrist, he turned on the light and looked at my tongue again.

By that time I was really wondering what he saw on my tongue. It looks like a normal tongue to me. He explained that there’s a lot that he can tell from a tongue, pronounced mine “purplish with some cracking,” and said that it showed a weakness in my lungs. He asked if I get a lot of colds, and I said, “You’re going to say ‘I told you so,’ but every time I get a cold it turns into bronchitis and I can’t get rid of it. I go through several rounds of antibiotics every time.” He explained that when the lungs are weak, the liver sometimes overworks and results in tight tendons. He asked if my neck cracks a lot. Ok – now it’s getting weird. I carry all my stress in my neck and shoulders, and I crack my neck multiple times a day. He said that we need to work on some core stuff and then we can focus more on the stress if that’s still an issue. He was shocked at how little I used to sleep, and recommended that when I fall asleep while putting the kids to bed, I should stay asleep. I can’t say that I’ve been able to do that, but I have been trying to get 8 hours per night.

He told me to recline, and wiped an alcohol pad in a few spots on my arms and legs. I couldn’t really feel the needles going in, but sometimes when he adjusts them he literally strikes a nerve and I can feel it going right down my leg or arm. It doesn’t hurt, just feels kind of weird for that moment. He probably puts in about a dozen needles (maybe more – I’ll count next time) – in my arms, hands, ankles and right above my forehead. I asked him to put one in that would help me poop, and he obliged. The weird thing was, in my first two sessions I actually felt and heard gurgling in my digestive system and worried that maybe the results would be too immediate.

After all of the needles are in I’m left to sleep for 45 minutes or more. Other people sometimes come into the room to have their treatments so we’re all in there napping together. It costs $250 for 10 sessions so it’s well worth the price even for the immediate benefit of a nap in peace and quiet.

Since the pattern of my stress symptoms was several “bad days” followed by some days feeling normal, it’s hard to tell whether the acupuncture is helping yet. I haven’t had any bad days (and by “bad day” I mean feeling like crap and wanting to crawl back into bed) since I started, and hopefully I’ll continue to improve.

If you’re local and you want to give Robert a try, here’s a link to his website.