Wednesday, July 31, 2013

registered and ready to roll

The registration process was painless. Went to the varsity gym, showed our proof of residence, checked a form for accuracy and got his updated schedule. Then we were off to get his bus route info. Then we walked the halls and made sure he had a basic idea of where his classrooms are. Talked to a few teachers who know the girls and came on home. Easy peasy.

Then the reality of it all began to hit. He is starting high school! Wow. Ugh. Yikes. He has an ice cream social to attend tonight for the speech and debate team. The teacher in charge of that group and the forensics classes called to invite him. The gentleman also is in charge of the entire TV production "gang" at the school. I hope the boy finds his spot with this group of kids. They are tight knit and are quite successful.

The oldest is in the throes of packing and finishing her crafts. The middle is in the midst of squeezing every last minute of friend time out of each day before they all begin to head away for the first time.

Off we go. I won't be blogging tomorrow as we are heading out very early in the morning.

Enjoy the weekend.


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

and the rain moves in

We've had the most pleasant summer weather. To be able to go out at lunch and walk without melting is a real treat. I enjoyed doing just that yesterday. It is the end of July and we aren't in triple digits. I wonder what that means for our winter? Will it be unseasonably cool, or will it be moderate? Who knows!

But for now, I'm going to enjoy the cool breeze on my morning walk and the opportunity to walk at lunch, as long as it isn't raining.

It might rain today. Then again, it might not. Our weather folks are never very accurate and Old Man River toys with their ability to predict storms at times.

As long as we have clear skies on Thursday for move in day with the oldest, I'm all good with some showers. Just no rain in Ttown...please?!

Off we go. Tuesday is here.

Monday, July 29, 2013

here we are

Here we are. The oldest returns to school on Thursday. We spent a good portion of Saturday purchasing things she will need for school. I have bags and boxes all over the house and one giant piece of rolled carpeting in the kitchen.

Once we have her settled, it is time to focus on gathering all the things the middle kid will need for her off to college moment.

But in the meantime, we have to get the youngest registered for high school tomorrow and one week from today he will be getting ready for his first day.

Summer is over.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

tonight

Tonight is the last concert of this year's season and the younger daughter is going to receive special recognition from her boss during the intermission. I guess orange flowers will be presented and Rocky Top might be played!

So, we will be in attendance this evening. If the weather stays like it has been, it should even be comfortable to be sitting outside in the park for the event.  This morning the temp is down and the humidity right along with it. Thank goodness. Yesterday was a bit sticky, even at 5:00 a.m.

Not much else to report. The work week is winding down and we are already making plans for a very busy Saturday. Big trip to Target and Hobby Lobby is in store for us.

Oh, I did realize that my trip to our convention is beginning on the same day the girls' schools will meet on the football field! Ugh. Kind of wanted to see that game, but I will be jetting off to the east coast instead.

Hey, Thursday, welcome back!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

movie night

Hubby was home early from work and we were able to sit down and watch a movie last night. Didn't want to watch anything to deep or thoughtful, so we wound up seeing "The Bourne Legacy." Decent action film! Didn't hurt it that Jeremy Renner was the main super spy.

I read all of the Bourne books back in high school. Ludlum was and is still one of the best at that genre.

The DVR has several other movies taped at the moment. Up next is "Beasts of the Southern Wilds" and "Moonrise Kingdom."

Not much else to report here other than it is really sinking in that the oldest heads back to school in a little over one week. She has some crafting to do as she needs to make sorority stuff for her Little Sister to be. We decided to make a hobby store run on Saturday so she can get that going. Thank goodness for Pinterest; great place for inspiration!

The other daughter is building her pile of college stuff in her room. The last few things arrived from Target yesterday. So, now we are down to getting the true essentials on her list. I think we are almost done with the decor stuff.

Hey, Tuesday, here you are. Welcome!

Monday, July 22, 2013

good times

We finally had the graduation/off to college party for the middle kid. So much fun! Hubby and I went to Costco early in the day and bought all the stuff and the party began at 4:00. I think the kids left about 10:30 to head out to swim. Had a lot of soccer parents here and our plans for a dinner club once all the girls are away at college are being firmed up. I'm looking forward to the once a month idea.

I believe we have one more party to attend, the first weekend of August, and then it is time to pack all these young ladies up and move them to their respective campuses.

The rest of the weekend was very quiet. We didn't do much of anything yesterday. Nice.

Not sure what is on the calendar for this week. I think it should be fairly free of any major events. We are only 2 weeks away from high school starting. The boy has his schedule and is ready to roll.

And I'm ready to roll off into the new week! Happy Monday.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

knickers in a knot

Our director actually reminded folks to not get their knickers in a knot as we transition into this new department structure. Easier said than done for many of the folks. Had a few interesting conversations yesterday with people more directly impacted by this change than our department. Knickers are knotting. Guess that is the best way to say it.

In the long run, stuff will sort itself out. It always does, one way or another. The complainers will always complain, but they will get use to the new order of things. Everyone else will deal with the changes and move on with only minor grumbling.

Perspective is an amazing thing. We had a phone interview yesterday with a newly elected executive board person. When asked about a big challenge facing the group, she mentioned an upcoming national organizational change and felt that the membership was having a problem with it. Really? My boss and I exchanged puzzled glances. The leadership may be having a problem with this change, but the folks in the trenches, our take is that they could care less. It makes no difference to them.  It is all perspective. She is super focused on this event. The rest of the world, not so much.

So while those she has to deal with may have some knots to work out, the folks who elected her, I think they are leaving that mess to her to solve.

Sometimes you can walk away from the knots. Sometimes you need to sit down and work it out. Sometimes stuff works out on its own with little direct effort.

The trick is knowing what approach to take. I'm trying to keep that in mind when I feel a knot coming on!



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

time to be charmed

The level of energy at work continues to be amped up. Yesterday the director announced what happened on Monday and let everyone know about the new assignments/responsibilities for some of us. Then I spent a good portion of the rest of the day either in meetings or talking about all the details of this new 'alignment.'

One detail announced was that my whole department is going to Baltimore in October. So, it is off to Charm City for the three of us. I might actually get to experience some of the cool stuff I've been tweeting, facebooking, and posting on linkedin.  Nice. I'm going to have plenty to keep me busy during the five days I am there, but I have hope to sneak out and explore a bit.

Like I want to see Poe's grave. Yep. I want to eat a real crab cake. Those are my top two.

In the meantime, there is a TON of work to be done. Digging through someone else's computer files is not an easy task. He wasn't super organized. It is a good reminder for me to make sure my stuff is clean and well kept. We are trying to approach it all in a uniform way in our area. We received the bulk of the committee liaison appointments and have agreed that we need to keep all of our 'stuff' in one central location so that if one of us is out, the others can access the info and get the committee folks what they might need.

So, the rest of the week is going to fly by. If the summer wasn't already speeding by, it has now hit warp speed.

Hey Wednesday, sure I can't squeeze more than 24 hours out of you??

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

shake up

Having a bit of a shake up at work. A director was let go yesterday, his department reassigned to another director, and his committees given to other employees. I received one of his committees, so now I am the staff liaison to the group of folks I worked with during the annual board meeting back in June. I was also told I probably had more knowledge about politics, government, and legislation than the entire committee.

LOLOLOL.

Okay, I will take this "opportunity to excel" and run with it. I don't think the shake up is over. I think more folks will be leaving before year end. Most likely a few of the workers from the department this guy was in charge of will not like the new leadership and will retire, change jobs, or be let go.

Downsizing is happening. It had to. Since NIH is cutting funding to research facilities across the country, it has finally trickled down to impact our association.

Let the games begin.

Monday, July 15, 2013

perking along

Busy weekend. Busy week ahead.

So, while the coffee pot perks, here is what we did and and what is coming up. Saturday's big event was a cookout at a soccer family's home. They are getting ready to move to the Atlanta area. He is a pilot for Delta and the pilot hub has left our town for Hartsfield. So, off they go! Going to miss them a lot.

Yesterday we ran some errands after church and then just relaxed at home.

It was a fairly quiet weekend, but it sure went fast. I think from now until the girls are off to school, time will really fly by us. All we can do is "perk" along and get ready for the next event.

The boy attends Freshmen Frenzy Thursday and Friday of this week at the high school. He has completed one of his essays for English and he's completed a first draft of the other. He realized he had some more Geometry to do, so that is up next.

The oldest's bff is home from NYC. She could only come home for 2 weeks this summer as she is working 2 jobs to pay her rent.

Here's Monday and the work week should be a busy one. Magazine stuff, national meeting stuff, final program stuff. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

Off we go.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

indulgence anita style

I splurged yesterday and ordered the latest Laurell K Hamilton book for my Nook. Yep. Cost me about $5.50 after I used up what was left of a gift card I earned by doing a social media vendor tutorial last fall.

So, to anyone reading...I could use more Barnes and Noble's money to fund my reading addiction. lol

The reviews on this latest "Anita" book have been good. Lots of comments saying that readers are so very glad the book has a plot, a mystery to solve, and old school Anita action! Hamilton has been publishing Anita stories for 20 years now.

TWENTY YEARS! I hope that freaked her out as much as it did me when I realized just how long ago it was when I first started reading these stories.

It is Thursday, thank goodness. Today should fly by as I'm going to begin layout for the September issue of the magazine. I worked on preloading social media content all day yesterday. Something that should be quick and easy has become quite a job due to the way we are  now keeping track of just what I am putting up and where it is being put....ha ha. My days of using a simple Excel sheet to track content are coming to an end and I'm now using Filemaker as well. Easy to pull reports from, my dear. Sure. Sure.

Got to run...or rather, walk. The dog is waiting, leash at his side.




Wednesday, July 10, 2013

count me in

Three of us went and voted yesterday. There is only one item on the ballot, the creation of our own municipal school district. We all voted YES!

Turnout has been rather sluggish as folks are weary of this whole thing, it is July, it is blazing hot, and a whole host of other reasons. I'm sure it will pass; every day another dysfunctional policy/change leaks out from the unified district.

In other news, our small town has had TWO armed robberies this summer. This is rather extraordinary for our Ville. The first was three local young adults who robbed a couple walking on the greenbelt. They were caught before they even made the park's parking lot. The latest was two men from the big city who stole a car and robbed a man at the mall. They were also caught within a short while and are now sitting in the clink with a $5 million bond on each of them.

Not sure what is going on with all that crazy, but the local police have been Johnny-on-the-spot in catching these idiots.

So, it is Hump Day!! Yeah!! The week can't end soon enough. Ugh. Too many grouchy people at work. Why is it that after a holiday weekend, the grouch factor goes up by 10?

Off I go!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

it's all downhill from here

Our summer vacations are  now over and it is all downhill from here. We have started the quick slide into July and before I'm ready for it, the oldest will head back to college. The youngest will start high school. Then the middle kid will head off to college.

Waaaaaaaaaa. I want a do-over!

I know that isn't going to happen, but I sort of wish it could. We've had a good summer. Two nice trips to see family and friends. Some days on the beach. A few hours on the lake. It has all been very nice.

Now the mad rush begins to get stuff done for the girls and we are monitoring the boy to make sure his summer work is completed and in good order.

Going to work yesterday after having a week off wasn't easy. Everyone was a big grouchy to be back at the old grind. I'm taking chocolate in for them today! Maybe it will provide an attitude adjustment.

But, it is Tuesday and the week will pass. It will be Friday before we know it.

Off I go!