I'm In!

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Just a quick post to let you know I heard back from the craft show promoter that I emailed yesterday. She offered me a spot at her May 4th Show & Sale at Casa Larga Vineyard! I've been to that show twice - there's always a nice variety.

I'm very excited & happy!

I'm amazed at how much more confident I am about the prospect of this show, having done that one last fall. Doing something the first time is always a little nerve-wracking. Sometimes I find myself being eager to get that first one under my belt, in spite of the nerve-wrackingness, just so I can move on to the next, easier one.

The only downside is it's on a Thursday (only). The Thursday after we return from our trip to Tampa. We return on Monday, Steve & I are both taking Tuesday off. So now I'll work Wednesday and take Thursday off - and work Friday. And it's the first week of the new month, my busiest time at work.

Oh well. It will all get done.

I'm eager to learn the details of the show (like how much will the booth space cost me?) Even if I don't rake in tons of dough, I know the exposure and experience will be valuable.

Jen offered to work with me that day. I'm not sure I need the help but it would be lots of fun with her so I might take her up on it. I'm thinking I won't take my big heavy card rack, since it's on a Thursday; my movers (Simon & Steve) won't be available.

I'm feeling good about the number of cards in my inventory - having just counted everything last weekend. This will give me plenty of time to work on some framed pieces and fill in any gaps in the cards.

If memory serves, I should be able to unload some of my wholesale product at this show too.

~ ~ ~

To answer some questions from recent comment sections:

Bonnie - The returning employee would return to the job she left. We used to be a 3-person department, but have been down an employee for a year and a half. We've been struggling as two people but could really do a bang-up job as three people. One of our most important jobs is Collections. The more we collect, the better our cash flow, the less we have to borrow, the less interest we pay.

Hilari - You get free massages from your friend during her slow periods?? You rock!

Joan - I hope you get the new job, if that's what you want. There's a lot to be said for "ruling the roost"! I understand the money thing, though. I'm one of those who eats lunch at my desk - that's when I catch up on blog reading. Yesterday though, I did go outside and just sit in the sunshine for a bit, soaking up as much Vitamin D as I could! A lot of people at work, work through lunch. I never do. I'm religious about taking that hour break every day. I need that time to recharge.

In answer to your question, I'm the Accounting Supervisor for a computer reseller. We sell hardware, software and services. I have 5 people reporting to me. My primary work is Accounts Receivable - collections, as I mentioned; sales tax returns, and like everyone, putting out numerous fires throughout the day. Our department also produces the invoices, credit memos and monthly statements. We enter the cash receipts. We set up new customers after running credit checks on them. Our customers are all large and small businesses, rarely private individuals. I really love my job - it's the perfect niche for me. As I said earlier, our AR functions best as a three person team and for a couple of months, I've been one person doing it all. That, I don't love. With the new addition to our team, we're up to 1-1/2, while in that learning curve, plus she's still doing some of her old duties. Even at 1-1/2, it's way better than 1!

Stephanie - I don't know why Mom hates cats. (Mom, care to elaborate? Bad experience as a child??) Gretchen and I both grew up to own cats, rebels that we are. I felt so weird and disloyal with the first cat I owned. Now we just tease Mom. Tease, torture, what's the difference again?

~ ~ ~

Sachets now 30% off!
$.88 each; $5.00 minimum purchase

Craft Show

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I received this postcard in the mail yesterday so thought I'd alert my local friends and family to this upcoming craft show, one of the first of the season.

The producer of this show, Sharon Kahler, is the Grand Poobah of area craft sales. A friend introduced me to her once. I understand there's a waiting list to participate in her shows. I just emailed her to ask to be considered for her future shows and sent her links to my work. That's been on my to-do list for months.

~ ~ ~

I learned yesterday that Sherry, our new accounting employee, loves the work she's doing for us! I've always been a bit worried that she might not be happy with this change from sales to accounting - turns out she's very happy. Regarding sales - she's all been there, done that. She's enjoying this new challenge she says.

Know what she asked me yesterday? "Is there anything else I can do to help you?"

After I got up off the floor, I high-tailed it back to my desk to gather more work for her. It was exhilarating!

Her birthday is Friday and she asked me if I'd join her when the CEO takes her out for her birthday lunch. Of course I said yes. My boss will probably go too so I'm going to use this opportunity to sing her praises loud & clear and start building my case for keeping her on permanently when our other co-worker returns from medical leave. I talked to my boss about it yesterday but this lunch will be a good time to present it to the CEO too.

~ ~ ~

Having said all that, all week I've been feeling a definite state of heightened anxiety. It's really weird, because I'm feeling relieved and very happy that the cavalry has arrived to help me - while still feeling very overwhelmed at the same time.

I can't even tell if this anxiety is work-related or home-related. I guess it's both. My studio has about 4 half-finished projects in progress. I have all kinds of things I want to do on the Pine Tree Designs website. I need to complete my tax return. I'm in the mood to declutter the whole house. At work, it's been a week full of urgent requests from fellow employees, with immediate deadlines.

I've been trying to counter this feeling by totally relaxing in the evening. Last night Steve and I watched a little TV, then I caught up on some journals and blogs on my laptop in the living room.

Sometimes I can't even tell if this is motivation or anxiety I'm feeling. Both, I guess. And I think I'm getting addicted to massage therapy. Every day I wake up and count the days until Friday when I get my next massage.

~ ~ ~

In other news, it's been in the 50s and sunny all week - supposed to hit 60 by the end of the week! It's way too early to think Spring, even though it's officially here. I go along with Steve's April 20th date - after which it's very unlikely we'll have any more snow. We have had snow in May, which is why he terms it that way: very unlikely.

Sunshine, no matter what the temperature, is a good thing!

Wacky Keyboard & Delicious Bread

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Check out this cool keyboard that Gretchen told me about. (Watch the demo.) I would love to try one of these.

~ ~ ~

This bread is to die for! I didn't have any beer so I used vegetable broth. I made the dill, chive and cheddar variety. I only baked it 30 minutes and it was perfectly done. We had it warm out of the oven, buttered, with our chicken noodle soup last night and I polished it off as a BLT for tonight's dinner. I'll probably make more tomorrow to go with our ravioli. It's fast, easy and deliciously chewy.

Dill and Cheddar Beer Bread

Farm Girl Fare

Basic Mix:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces beer

Optional glaze: 1 egg & 2 teaspoons water, beaten

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dill, and cheddar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan, brush with egg glaze if desired, and bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Flavor Variations:

Garlic & Herb: Add 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 2 minced garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon garlic flakes) to the basic mix. For fresh herbs, use 1 chopped Tablespoon of each.

Dill & Chive: Add 2 Tablespoons fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried dill) and 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives to the basic mix.

Italian: Add 1 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano (or 1 Tablespoon each chopped fresh basil and oregano), 2 minced cloves of garlic, and 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or romano cheese to the basic mix.

Other Additions: Any dried or fresh herbs; 1/2 cup freshly grated asiago (or other hard cheese); 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped scallions; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or 1/2 cup oats in place of 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour. Or practically anything else you can think of--use your imagination.

~ ~ ~

Sachets now 30% off,
just $.88 each -
with $5.00 minimum purchase.

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Sachets, Massage, Food and a Play

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~ ~ ~

Sachets now 30% off,
just $.88 each -
with $5.00 minimum purchase.

~ ~ ~

Simon got a buzz cut today, thereby losing his gelled, spiky hair he's been sporting for 6 years. He said he started wearing it like that in the 7th grade. I would have guessed 3 years. Time flies.

He can now wear hoodies and hats. Just time for a change he said. And once he mentioned it to his friends, there was no turning back or he'd look like a wimp, he said. He's happy.

~ ~~

I went out to breakfast with Pam yesterday morning at Steve's Place. She gave me two soy candles she bought at a candle party, from a woman who lives in Bloomfield. The woman's card was included - I don't think she has a store or website - must be party only. I've always wanted to try a soy candle. These smell heavenly - Georgia Peach smells good enough to eat. The other is lavendar which I have burning now. Mary, my massage therapist, has one of those oil/reed diffuser things on the room where she gives the massage, that's lavender. So smelling that candle immediately puts me in a massage state of mind.

Speaking of massage - wow, Friday night's massage really unleashed some emotion. As I've said, overall work is going much better but Friday afternoon was very stressful. I was driving to my massage appointment after work, feeling like I wanted to get drunk. What?? I've hardly ever felt like that in my life and I really don't drink anymore. Weird. I focused on happy thoughts and was able to shake the stress before I got there. I thought.

The massage was wonderful as usual. At the end, Mary did a little more Reiki than she normally does. I thought that's what she was doing but all I knew for sure, is I was getting uncomfortably warm. The table is heated, which is usually just comfortable. I was thinking that I better have her turn that off next time - I was having one of my "power surges". She finished and leaned over and whispered to me, "You've got some crazy energy going on there."

I didn't know what to make of it but I felt good, stopped to pick up our pizza and went home. I started talking to Steve and burst into tears. It was the work stuff pouring out of me. He talked some sense into me but I had myself a decent little sobfest. It was weird because even I, who really appreciates a good cry, felt this was different, deeper than usual. It wasn't for a few hours that I realized it probably had to do with the massage.

So I emailed Mary to ask her about it and she said:

Rekhi is energy work, it has ALOT to do with intention. My intention during the massage was to help you heal yourself. Both emotional and physical, your jaw tension, job stress etc. It is not unusual for a client to have an emotional release either during or after a massage. It is like opening, sorry to use the pun, the floodgates. Positive energy flowing thru you helps with this release. It is just your body giving you an out, to release negative energy.

So yes, the massage can facilitate this type of reaction, and it is a good thing. The warm sensation you had could definitely be the acceptance of your body to take in positive energy, my hands are only the channel through which it passes, consequently the heat. I try to add a little Rekhi into all my sessions but maybe this time your innerself decided it was time to really take in all you could. That also is a good thing.

I love this stuff. I've had a massage every Friday after work for 4 weeks now. Each week is a bit different. Good stuff.

~ ~ ~

Saturday afternoon I went to Geva Theatre with Lynn and Linda to see Inherit the Wind. It was a good production, just not very entertaining, to me. They won't all be winners when you have season tickets. We went to Alexandria's for dinner afterwards. We each had a homemade pasta dish. I had basil pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. (It usually comes with olives, but I asked them to leave them off.) It was really delicious. I only brought a little bit home - which Simon finished off today. Judging by the number of sun-dried tomatoes I saw in the sink afterwards, I take it the boy doesn't care so much for them.

~ ~ ~

Steve and I went in the hot tub first thing this morning, then read the Sunday paper. I made breakfast bagel sandwiches for breakfast, using the leftover bagels I brought home from my work breakfast on Friday.

Then I tackled my Pine Tree Designs inventory. I needed the figure to continue on my income tax return. Everything is very organized on shelves downstairs so it was a breeze, working on my laptop on the workbench. I knew it would be a good exercise to perform - to get me jazzed up about "growing my business". (I really hate that overused phrase as much as I hate "take it to the next level"!) Plus I like seeing the cards I've made.

I categorized everything on a spreadsheet in several ways so I can use this information in a number of ways. The first thing I want to do is work harder to get rid of the wholesale product I have left over from when I rented space at the gift shop co-op in Fairport. Thus the sale on sachets mentioned at the top of this entry. I'll continue to feature items every so often. It's all under Discontinued Items on the Pine Tree Designs website.

Like I said, I really broke down the inventory very specifically to make the information useful, besides just for my taxes. Can you believe I have 1037 items in inventory?! That's every single magnet, card, postcard, etc. That's 284 Stefani Cards alone. I'm totally surprised by these numbers!

~ ~~

We had roast chicken earlier this week so I'm making chicken noodle soup this afternoon from the remains. Guess that's dinner tonight. Maybe I'll go throw some ingredients in the breadmaker too. It's probably in the 40's today - very sunny! I swept off the deck and filled the birdfeeders even.

It's a good day.

Juggling

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I've been meaning to post this Chris Bliss video forever. First saw it on my friend Mary's site - and Maria posted it too - so you may have seen it. I've watched it several times - always entertaining!

Now this dude juggles to the same music - with 5 balls, not 3! I just read a lot of the comments on this Jason Garfield video, then watched both videos again back-to-back. I don't know spit about juggling. But I suppose I can agree that Chris is more entertaining, more in sync with the music but technically, Jason is a better juggler. But mostly I found them both entertaining.

Mary - what are your thoughts? And what's a busker?

~ ~ ~

If you are reading Gretchen's blog, The Year in Red, you know she writes a lot about her experiences in Florida with her friend Helen. Gretchen works with Helen and stays at her apartment every other week and they are great friends. Gretchen talks about me to Helen and she talks about Helen to me so now Helen and I consider ourselves friends.

Yesterday, I received these two birthday cards from Helen. I laughed out loud.

Inside: That doesn't actually spell anything. I just thought it'd be funny to frustrate you a bit. Old people are funny like that. Happy Birthday.

Then Helen writes: Now, now - play nice! Remember you have to set a good example for me and the GSta (Gretchen's rappin' stage name) for how to graciously turn 50!!!

Helen writes: Come to FL, you can live with the other AARP crew in the trailer park. Me 'n' Gretchen will come by to redneck it up for ya.

It's no mystery why Gretchen and Helen get along so well and have a ton of laughs. They are two funny women. Gretchen and I come by our senses of humor genetically. While at the birthday cake eating festivities at Mom and Dad's house on my birthday, Mom said something so funny I darn near snorted milk out my nose. (Of course I have no idea now what it was she said.) Boy, I haven't had a good milk snorting in forever. It used to be a regular occurrence for me as a youngster. Come to think it, maybe that says more about my inability to swallow properly, than it does my family's sense of humor.

Birthdays, New Friends, Knotology & Cookies

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Happy birthday, Reggi! My girl is 5 years old today. Or 35 in dog years. As Steve pointed out, in three more years, she'll be older than we are.

Kathy is a fellow quiller who stopped by my blog, then emailed me. (She's from the big quiller's list on Yahoo I was trash-talkin' yesterday - but she laughed and agreed with me, thank goodness!) Her website is Katie's Cows and Udder Things. She does lovely work - go take a look. I'm so new at quilling, I never thought of quilling on glass, as in votive candle holders. Hello, Christmas presents.

From her site, I eventually ended up at Craft Site Directory which contains a wealth of information. Fellow crafters will definitely want to bookmark that site. Here's something I found through that directory:

Sphere 94, folded by Rosa. Directions and other cool knotology found at OriHouse.

~ ~ ~

Work continues to go better and better now that I have help. Sherry is wonderful to work with, I could not be happier. She's a very nice person too - I really like everything about her - her personality, her work ethic. Wednesday, I was positively giddy at the amount of work I'd accomplished. I worked just as hard as I do everyday but I managed to just about dissipate one scary stack of papers from my desk. Sometimes I can work just as hard all day long but have nothing visible to show for it. I love moving papers, crossing or deleting things off a list - very goal oriented, I am.

True to form, the next day wasn't so good. I had more requests, emails and tasks coming in than I could handle as quickly and efficiently as I'd like. My input was greater than my output! But as Dad always says, "Good or bad, this won't last." Mom says it this way, "This too shall pass." I was telling Steve it was like when I was recovering from gall bladder surgery - good days and bad days alternated in such a predictable pattern, it amazed me. Now I'm noticing that pattern all over the place!

It's my turn to bring in breakfast this morning so I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. I'll stop and buy bagels and muffins too. I made these cookies earlier in the week and remembered how much I love them, so I baked them for today too. (Plus, you know I love using my new Kitchen Aid mixer! I could just stare into that bowl and watch things get mixed up all day long.) This recipe is from Gretchen and the best thing is it contains 2 tablespoons of corn syrup so the cookies are amazingly soft and chewy, just how I like them.

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup peanut butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and white sugar, until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Drop by ¼ cupful 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden.

Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 24 cookies.

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Speaking of Gretchen, I hope you are reading her blog, The Year in Red. My sister, the Travel Slut. That's the entry I linked to, but read the next one - it's all about ME! She's a great writer; she makes me laugh, she makes me cry. Can't do better than that.

Idol

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I heard about GoogleIdol or Gidol today. I found it through a link to Pomme & Kelly lip syncing R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I can't stop watching this thing! I mean, the song makes you bop in your chair anyway, but these two crack me up. I've watched a few seconds of some of their other videos - will have to watch more later. I love how uninhibited and goofy they are. I started watching it before it was totally buffered so the freeze frames on some of the faces they make were hilarious. I could never be that loose in a room all by myself, let alone about in front of a camera. On the Internet!

~ ~ ~

The inexperience of the people on the Yahoo Quillers List is driving me batty. There have been 1234 email messages in March-to-date. I don't know how many I get per day but it's a lot. Fortunately the vast majority of them are fluff so I can blow through them pretty quickly - and I have them all filtered into a specific folder so they don't clutter up my In Box.

Someone will post a picture of their latest quilling project, then 55 people email in response, "How lovely!", "Nice work!" Or my other favorite is that someone will offer a pattern - and instead of just posting it on the Yahoo Group file page or attaching it to the email, they offer it to people, who then email the entire list, "Me too!" "I'd like the pattern too if it's not too much trouble." It's no trouble - she offered!

The good news is there are 1269 people on this list - but only the same two dozen seem to email constantly.

The even better news is I've found some excellent free patterns and gotten lots of inspiration and ideas. The talk lately has turned to paper embroidery - one of my very favorite things, as you well know.

This is a dragonfly and cattails. I think the dragonfly should be in another color or something, to make it more distinct.

Photo Crafts

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Designer Vivian Peritts demonstrated both of these items on a Carol Duvall Show I watched last night. She cuts up photographs that are otherwise unusable and makes mosaic items with them. This is one of those boxy plastic picture frames you can buy anywhere. She masked off where the photograph goes, then painted the box with black acrylic paint. Then she sponged on a sand colored paint. She glued the photograph mosaic pieces down - and the background looks like grout. (It wasn't the cute picture of the snoozing puppy that got my attention. Not totally, anyway.)

For this project she enlarged a photograph of pansies, cut it half lengthwise and fed each half through her shredder. Then she wove this sheet, using the strips randomly. She added an adhesive backing to it and covered a journal cover with it. (She used a hand-cranked shredder. I wonder if it is designed just for crafts because my regular shredder leaves a bit of a jagged edge.)

You know how I loves teeny-tiny.

The rest of the details are here.

Tampa Bay

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Tampa Bay, Florida, here we come! End of April. Can't wait!
I've found a couple of art & craft galleries and Steve wants us to go to a Devil Rays baseball game.
A little something for everyone.
Plus a whole lot of relaxing.

They Want Me

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Woo-hoo - - finally!! I was crabbing to a guy at work who turned 50 last year, "What's the big deal about turning 50? I haven't even been contacted by AARP yet!" That very night - I found my first AARP correspondence in the mailbox. It's only an offer for life insurance. I know there are other benefits to joining. Steve and I were surfing vacation spots online last night and I said, "Hey, they offer an AARP discount!" He mumbled something about being glad he lives with an older woman. (He turns 50 in October.)

I think I have finally wrung every last drop out of this birthday so I wanted to show you a few cards before I took them down. This is the door to my studio - made me happy every day to see such wonderful cards from my friends and family.

This one is from Ann, my digital artist extraordinaire friend. This is such a fun card - reminds me of 60's pop art.

This is from Dara, who always sends me handcrafted cards in cellophane envelopes. That's a pocket that holds the removable tag with the greeting on it. I had to ask her if she put all those dots on the paper herself because it looked like she did. And she did! Love the brads, love the funky fibers.

This postcard is from Sharon. It's pretty heavy duty - mounted on Strathmore Watercolor 140 lb Cold Press paper. I asked her about it and she said she found the postcards at Michael's. This is the first one she mailed, I think she said. That frog is layered on the green which is attached to the postcard - and it made it through the postal system unscathed. She stamped a greeting on the back - and her perfect librarian's printing almost looks like a rubber stamp! (Stephanie, you have nice handwriting too, now that I think about it. Must be a librarian thing??) Sharon even used a Wild Thing postage stamp, for the perfect bookish touch.

Roses

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Roses that Mom brought for our table at the restaurant for my family birthday dinner.

Paper quilled roses by Doreen Coreman. She made this pin for a customer who was so taken with it, she asked Doreen to make matching earrings.

I wasn't the only one on the Quillers email list that found those paper folded roses to be exquisite - there's been a lot of discussion of the technique lately. One of the list member sells an instruction sheet with photos for $3.00. I couldn't get my PayPal finger clicking fast enough to order that. I haven't had a chance to attempt them yet - but work of the above quality is my goal. Man, I love those!

~ ~ ~

Shocking news. I'm an idiot. I guess I couldn't post these photos for the last few days because I had not saved them with the .jpg extension. It must be that my old scanner software added the extension automatically if I didn't, even though I was in the habit of adding the extension myself. And for these photos I had not. I was determined to figure out my problem this morning and as soon as I looked at the files, I knew what I'd done. Idiot.

~ ~~

After work tonight, I'll go for my 3rd massage of that 6-session package I bought. What a grand idea that turned out to be. It wasn't easy prying the money from my wallet but knowing I have a weekly massage appointment, already paid for, makes me happy all week, starting Monday morning.

And tonight I'll continue our weekly pizza pick-up plan as well. Simon has dinner at his dad's so it's always just me and Steve. Two weeks ago we had a pulled pork pizza and last week was a taco pizza. I'll order it before I leave work for my massage and ask them to have it ready at 6:30. I love Fridays.

Oy Already

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I have been trying for two days to post a couple of photographs and Blogger refuses to co-operate. It just hangs, then times out. It seems I had this problem once before and either can't remember how I "fixed it" or worked around it - or maybe it just finally worked. Oy.

* * *

I am one of three people in our company asked to be a "pioneer" of our new company portal. I met with the programmers today for a preview. It's very cool and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Each employee can customize their page to their heart's content. Each will have a private page and a public page. It will make our work day absolutely more productive, by having so many links, pages, forms and tools accessible in one spot. I just eat this stuff up with a spoon and while I don't expect all employees to embrace it as fully as I know I will, I hope I can "lead by example", showing them what a terrific tool this is for us. For a computer (reseller) company, it doesn't always feel like we're as on the cutting edge as we should be. This new portal is a very good thing.

* * *

I'm writing this entry on my lunch hour, which is why it is so work-centric.

Having some additional help for this past week has made a big difference in my stress level. She's doing a terrific job and I'm very much enjoying working with her.

Our ESOP Communications Group decided last month to lead by example (heard that phrase recently??), in an effort to increase participation in the office-wide Monday Morning Meetings that we initiated for every other week. It's just a 15-20 minute update where anyone can speak, updating us on that week's upcoming events, sales successes, seminars, etc.

We ESOP committee members decided to each take a week on a rotating basis, to speak about our department - updates on projects, methods, work loads, whatever. I volunteered to go first. I think I used to do this in the 3rd grade too - offer to give my book report first, to get it over with! So my head has been buzzing for a few days, trying to plan my piece. It's very informal and I'm not really nervous - I just want to make sure I have enough substance.

* * *

I read something very interesting on Buzzoodle the other day.

What is a Real Workplace Diva:

Irreplaceable
High Profile, face of company
Creativity drives product development
Pays for themselves many times over with the value they add

What are the traits of an Ordinary Diva:

Strong sense of entitlement
Belief they cannot be replaced even though they can
Complain to their friends because they are not appreciated at work
Point out organizational flaws but do not step up to be part of the solution
Always think they should be paid more despite ROI saying otherwise
Causes moral problems with the teams they are on

All I can say (on the Internet!) is that, don't we all know of people who perfectly fit these profiles? I've shared this with two people within our company - sure wish I could post it on the mail room bulletin board or something!

* * *

I didn't upload this until I got home and I'm sitting in my studio now and can hear lots of Canada Geese flying overhead. I bet not 10 minutes goes by until I hear more - they are out in droves today. Or gaggles, as the case may be. (Oh! Miriam-Webster says a gaggle only applies when they are not in flight. I didn't know that.)

As I drove down our road on my way home tonight, I scanned the sky and I bet there were at least 15-20 Vs of geese all over the place. I now regret not pulling over and counting and watching them. When I walked down the driveway to get the mail, it was darn loud out there. When they fly low and close to the house, their honking almost hurts my ears, it's so loud. Canada Geese have long been one of my favorites. They are big beautiful birds and they mate for life. Gotta love that.

Honkers!

Basil Baked Chicken

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I found this recipe online the other day and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. It's a simple dish but the chicken was just as moist and tender as could be. I used dried basil - and lemon yogurt, which was a wonderfully slightly sweet counterpoint to the saltiness of the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Love a good salty/sweet taste!

Fresh Basil Baked Chicken Breasts

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 8 (2.5 lbs)
Low-fat yogurt - 3/4 cup
Cornstarch - 2 tsp
Bread crumbs - 1 cup
Fresh basil - 1/2 cup, chopped
Grated parmesan cheese - 2 tb

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts side by side in a baking dish.

Mix lowfat yogurt, basil and starch. Spread over the chicken.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese over the chicken.

Bake the chicken at 375 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

Empire Red

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Happy Birthday to Me!

Looky at what Mom & Dad gave me for my birthday! I'm so happy!! I had that thing mixing up sugar cookies by 9:00 this morning. Works like a dream! Mixes like buttah, I tell ya.

We went out to dinner last night - Bocaccini's in Fairport. We would be: Mom, Dad, Gretchen, Paul, Simon, Steve and me. Gretchen gave me a card with nice mushy stuff written in it and a very generous gift certificate to a local spa run by two sisters to use for whatever services I'd like. Yep, I burst into tears right there at the table. She and I don't usually exchange gifts but we both think turning 50 is a pretty big (very good) deal. So now I have three years to think up something nice to do for her.

Dinner was scrumptious. I was glad I'd forced myself to stop eating before I finished my dinner, because we went to Mom & Dad's house for dessert. Gretchen bought 7 slices of all varieties of chocolate cakes, pies and tarts from The Little Bakery. We literally sat around the dining room table, forks in hand, passing the plates around the table so we could all try everything. It was all very delicious!

My Marine nephew, Nick, called me from Camp LeJeune, NC, to wish me happy birthday - what a nice surprise that was!

Simon gave me the Oprah 20th Anniversary DVD collection. I didn't even know I wanted it until I saw it playing on the TVs at BJ's Wholesale Club last week. I thought it was just a compilation of a bunch of shows, most of which I've seen over the years or in various other retrospectives. But when it was playing on the TVs, I saw it also included Oprah introducing each clip, talking about the interviews she's done. It also includes a personal tour of Oprah's home (which one??) and a Day in the Life of the Oprah Winfrey Show. I can't wait to watch it - 17 hours on 6 discs!

Steve said he could not think of a thing to give me or an activity I'd want to do for my birthday - until he thought of something that he said guiltily, was partly for him. He wants us to fly somewhere in April for a long weekend - just the two of us. He says we both really need a break from our lives. He needs it especially - he's got work stress on top of family stress, poor guy. And yes, his suggestion made me cry! I'm the one who is always making the plans and wants to go away. He's always game but it's not usually on his "radar screen", as he says. So this was a pretty big deal for him to think of this. He said we could research together where to go.

My first thought was concern for Simon - because I'd told him I was not leaving the house overnight until he doesn't live here anymore. I'm afraid of Simon having a party that gets out of control, even through no fault of his own. I know how things are with teenagers when they learn parents aren't home. It scares me; I've heard stories. So I talked to Simon who immediately volunteered that he would not have any parties while we were gone. I thought for sure he'd lobby to have a small party - but maybe that's coming yet. He has yet to do anything to cause me not to trust him. His actions and words always match. So I'm going to trust him. And call him frequently. And have Gretchen check in on him. Actually, now Simon is saying he can't wait until we go away so when we come home and find nothing bad has happened and he's kept his word, he can rub it in my face. He was saying it good naturedly, cracking me up.

So I'm very excited about the upcoming trip. I'm open to suggestions! Gretchen suggested Savannah, GA or Baltimore. I've emailed my friend Kathy, who spent time in Charleston last year - I think that's where it was. We don't want anything very touristy. Some place where there's stuff to do - not shopping, not amusement parks - things to see - an aquarium, a zoo, interesting art. We typically like to do stuff in the morning and maybe veg in the room in the afternoon and go out to dinner. We're kind of homebodies, I guess, even on vacation - with a little action thrown in. Anyway. Ideas?

Okay, now I'm done. You don't have to hear me yak on about my birthday any more. It was a raging success. And now I'm 50.

Oh! Speaking of 50, I read in the paper this morning that James Taylor turns 58 this year. I laughed out loud and told Steve that I read that and thought, "Wow, he's young, not even 60 yet." A couple of days ago I would have read that and said, "Wow, he's old - pushing 60!" Perspective is everything.

Make sure you go read the very nice entry Gretchen wrote about me in her blog, The Year in Red. Long-time readers may remember that piece from years ago - and she threatens there's a Part Two coming. Yes, it made me cry again. (Anyone seeing a pattern here, with the crying??)

Stefani Day

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Do you think it's safe to say that if I was so pooped by 7:46 PM that I had to go to bed for the night, it was most likely an exhilarating Stefani Day??

It was!

The first part won't sound exhilarating, but it was. I went to work for a meeting. This was an unprecedented meeting of almost all the departments in our Rochester office, to discuss how to get our work done with the number of employees we currently have. I wouldn't have missed this for the world and I'm glad I went. Though I have highly unusual circumstances with my AR counterpart being on medical leave for 4 months, everyone feels overworked to some degree.

Our company president, who works in our Buffalo office, has started a Kaizen movement within our company. You can imagine what a fan I am of business buzzwords, but I can get behind the concept, which is continuous improvement involving all levels of the organization.

The meeting was started by a manager telling us flat out, we will not be hiring more employees for the Rochester office, permanent or temporary, in the foreseeable future. We all knew that, I think, but it was definitely good that we all heard it in no uncertain terms, at the same time. It feels like most information is passed on to us in such a wishy-washy way, so even if it was "bad news" - it was definite news.

It was a good meeting. I was afraid people would clam up because the CEO was present, but they didn't. I got to say all that I wanted to say and I felt I was heard. I'm actually feeling renewed a bit and am looking forward to going to work on Monday. It also helped that I was able to take time on Thursday afternoon to sort out the big scary pile of papers on my desk into much better organized chaos.

On my way out the door, I snagged two Cole & Parks cookies which had been delivered to the office by one of our vendors. These are from a local restaurant; big, soft & chewy. Delicious lunch!

After that I drove straight downtown to the Memorial Art Gallery to see the exhibit, Extreme Materials. (I had mentioned it to a friend the previous day so when I went to work for the meeting she gave me a birthday card with money for the museum admission tucked inside. That was so thoughtful! It made the day even more of a gift.)

This experience could not have been more perfect for me if I'd special ordered it. I had high hopes for this exhibit and they were exceeded. I tried to pick my favorites from their website to show you. I could have picked them all and told you all about every single one!

In no particular order:


This is sort of their signature piece, I think. It's the one you see in all the ads. It's a Cadillac with all sorts of weird things glued to it. I can't even begin to describe the stuff - beads, shoe soles, McDonald’s toys, you name it. Very cool. (On a related note, I saw an artist on one of the HGTV craft shows the other day, who rubber stamped a design on her car. Don't think that didn't get the ol' wheels turning for what I could do to my car!)



This is lots of spools of thread strung on clear poly tubing, in a design that if you look at it through that lens thing, turns the image right side up. I think it's a famous painting or something - I didn't really get that part.

Zippers, twisted into cones.

This one was cool. This is thousands of window envelopes from junk mail. The windows are clear of course and the white envelope part around the window is cut in a scalloped shape. You could read the writing on some of the envelopes.

Shipping tags with the names of fungus written on each one.

These plates were made by smog. The artist put a stencil of each president on a white plate and left them on her roof in Los Angeles. The dark area, made by the smog, was left to get darkest on the plates of the presidents who were the least friendly to the environment. Jimmy Carter's had the least amount of smog.

This represents a napkin lying on a table. It was carved from salt - as in a salt block, as in animal feed.

This one is very cool! These are dried orange peels, stitched with red thread.

This one was pictured in our newspaper when the exhibit opened. It's a swimming pool cover tied with cable ties to look like a cactus.



I really liked this one. It's a collage of beads - some are painted on the background board. Some are real pills and capsules encased in the resin layer, and then the top layer is painted on top of the resin layer. It's very dimensional and colorful. The pill "necklaces" in the resin were very cool.

This is one pencil, shaved into one continuous spiral. Impressive, huh?

This is crocheted cassette tape. It says There's no comfort in the truth.

This is the wall hanging of duck sauce packets that I think I mentioned in a previous entry. Standing back from it, you can see the overall pattern, the wavy lines.




These are eggshells encased in resin. Its companion piece was broken peach pits encased in resin. This one intrigued me because of the patterns the shells made.


These are drug baggies picked up off the streets of NYC. The dealers apparently take discarded plastic bags and cut them into little squares to package the drugs they sell.



This piece blew me away. No surprise there - it's paper! This is a collage by Marietta Ganapin, 11" x 11". I was lucky enough to find a postcard of it in the gift shop but I still wish I remembered more about it. I do remember that background is made up of a gazillion circles of paper, the kind you produce with a regular office type hole punch. Seeing that one element made something in my brain go zing! I have so many ideas swirling around in my head for framed paper art - and this just opened a whole new avenue.



Also in the museum is a collection of work by internationally renowned Rochester artist Wendell Castle. He's mostly known for his woodworking though he works with other materials as well. This one is called Chair Standing on Its Head. I was standing inches from it and learned that pillow is made of wood only by reading the wall plaque! I know a bit about Wendell's work - and I still thought it was a real pillow until I read that it is wood. It's simply outstanding. Most of the pieces displayed are part of the museum's permanent collection with the others being on loan from Wendell or owners of his art. Several pieces were benches for patrons to sit on. Very cool stuff.

I highly recommend this Extreme Materials exhibit. There are probably 40 pieces in it - which was just the right amount. I didn't get "museumed out". $7.00 for non-members, students get a discount.

~ ~~

I went from there to a store on West Main Street that I found accidentally on the Internet, Rochester Art Supply. I bought the PVA glue I've been looking for and linen adhesive tape for use in making little books. They had lots of cool handmade paper but I didn't buy any. I have trouble owning such beautiful paper because I never want to use it because then it will be gone.

Their website shows what I thought was a big box of Origami paper but it wasn't that impressive in person. However, they did have a cube of 2" squares of Origami paper that called my name loud and clear. Except it was $16.99, so it's call wasn't quite so loud after that. I have no idea what I'd do with it. I can certainly buy Origami paper lots of places and cut it into my own 2" squares. This little packages was just so dang cute! La, la, la, I can't hear you, no I can't, la, la, la, leave me alone, cute paper!

Then I went to Xpedx, a paper warehouse, also downtown. I really didn't need anything, just wanted to stroll the aisles. I bought some padded envelopes and a half-ream of textured gray paper from their clearance shelf, just because.

I started to head over to the stamp store on Dewey Avenue because they have a good selection of quilling supplies but it was a lot of back-tracking and I decided I was pretty hungry. Those two cookies for lunch were wearing off. Steve's mom took us out to dinner so I knew I'd be eating dinner at 5:30 so I didn't want to eat very much. I was craving the only fast food I ever crave - an Arby's roast beef sandwich. The one on Monroe Avenue now has a drive-thru - even better! I bought a junior and ate it before I got off of Allens Creek Drive.

Then I had some Stefani Time at home, quilling and watching Dr. Phil and Oprah.

I had chosen McArdle's for dinner with Steve's mom. I had Santa Fe Scallops for an appetizer and Chicken Scampi and a salad for dinner.

Steve watched basketball when we got home and I read on the computer for a bit. At 7:46, I could no longer keep my eyes open and headed for bed. I remember seeing the clock strike 7:56 as my head hit the pillow.

It was a good day!

Death & Birth

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I find myself strongly affected by the news of the death of Dana Reeve. It's reminiscent of how the death of Princess Diana affected me. I'm still in denial about Dana, I think. Some things seem so fiercely unfair, it takes a while to go through the steps to acceptance.

My first thought, as it was for many, was of their son, Will. He'll never be the same, I thought, losing two parents within 15 months. And while that's true, of course, my second thoughts were oddly calm and reassuring. I have a feeling that he'll turn out to be an outstanding young man, possibly carrying on the healthcare commitments his parents shared, or maybe finding his own way. At the very least, he's certainly been a front row witness as to how to deal with life's unfair circumstances with dignity and respect. Maybe that's a lot to live up to, I don't know. He's just a 13 year old kid, after all. But I'm keeping a very good thought for him.

Anyway. Gretchen and Bev have both written far more eloquent pieces about Dana that are very much worth reading.

~ ~ ~

My friends at work helped me start my birthday weekend early today. Marlene brought in bagels for breakfast, with my favorite cream cheese, honey walnut. Jen gave me a gift bag filled with 50 Hershey's Special Dark Miniatures!

And she made this card that the whole department signed. Balloons! Jen knows I've been knee-deep in quilled balloons but she said she had the idea for this card long before I started with the quilled balloons obsession. I love how those star brads perfectly match the colored pencilled balloons! Jen said that was a happy accident. I love when that happens.

Our CEO takes every employee in our Rochester office out to lunch for their birthday - been doing it for 35 years. Pretty impressive. Because my birthday falls on a Saturday and I'm taking Friday off, I was invited to go to lunch today, in conjunction with the birthday of our Purchasing Director. My boss always goes and one of the sales reps went with us too. I was asked if I wanted to invite anyone but the only person I would have invited had previous plans so I declined the offer to invite someone else. So it was me a da boys.

We went to Peter Guyer, a sort of fancy steakhouse. I ordered a burger, which I've been craving for a few weeks, which is rare for me. Steve often orders burgers when we go out to dinner but he orders them rare or medium rare with lots of drippy condiments, that leaves his dinner running down his elbows. I told him I ordered mine the proper way, medium well. It just had cheese, lettuce and tomato - served on a hard roll. The steak fries were seasoned so perfectly I never even reached for the salt shaker - almost unheard of for me! It was all delish.

Good thing I didn't order dessert at the restaurant because Jen brought in two, count 'em, two chocolate cakes from a store near her house. One was Double Chocolate and the other was Rocky Road. Somehow they've figured out I like chocolate! (We all do around there, who am I kidding?) They were both very good - chocolatey, without being too heavy. (Not that I'm opposed to heavy chocolate, mind you!) I shared the rest of the Double Chocolate cake with the rest of the building employees but brought home the remainder of the Rocky Road cake. Steve was happy. (Simon's not a cake eater, wacky kid.)

It was a good day.

New Things

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I, Stefani Tadio, went shopping on Sunday. On purpose. For fun. Yep, hell has frozen over, alright.

My massage therapist (I love saying that) has a couple of these reed diffuser things in her studio. I just love the scent (Citrus Cilantro) because it smells so fresh. I always thought these things were expensive but she told me 12 bucks at Pier One. I had to have one. It's sitting on a little table on "my side" of the living room couch. It makes me happy daily.

It's possible I have not been in Pier One in a year or two. Now I remember why. I want to buy everything! I decided to go there Sunday because I was feeling pretty low about all the stuff I've been whining about for the past few weeks and I thought some Stefani Time spent looking at cool things would cheer me up. Good thing I'm actually too cheap to buy much but man, my mental shopping cart was getting pretty full as I walked around the store.

I love this candlestick so much I probably would have paid full price for it - but it was on the clearance shelf so it quickly became a no-brainer. My intention was to put it on the kitchen table but it didn't look so hot there. The kitchen theme is apples, which is sort of country-ish I guess, so this looked out of place. Turns out it was meant to be here - on the fireplace hearth! It's perfect! It looks hand-painted in that funky whimsical style I love but I doubt it is. Hand painted, that is. But I just love it.

I also bought this black napkin at Pier One - and it turns out this stoneware bowl I used to have on the hearth - that's what belongs on the kitchen table! (Dad, that used to be your bowl - remember it? Was it Granny's by chance? Or where did you get it?) I want to find some nice "faux" red apples to put in the bowl. If silk flowers look real these days, surely I can find some decent looking red apples. I haven't looked yet but I know they're out there. (I'm amazed that Verona has not tried sleeping in that bowl yet.)

After taking the above pictures, walking down the hall to my studio, I realized I haven't shown you our lava lamp night light. To conserve energy, Steve and I tend to not turn hall lights on when we are walking around the house. Sounds kind of silly but there you are. Verona, a 100% black cat, tends to sprawl anywhere and everywhere on the floor and not move when approached. I swear I've never met a more relaxed cat. So I wanted just enough light so I could avoid stepping on Verona. This was sort of an impulse purchase at Linens & Things a few weeks ago. It's so frivolous and not practical, that I kind of got a thrill out of spending those 5 bucks. Now, of course I wish I had a more practical (brighter) night light, but this will do for now.

~ ~ ~

Things are going much better at work. Even I was amazed at how my whole mood and attitude improved, just knowing that now that I officially have help. In fact, I guess I didn't realize fully how bad a mood I have been in. I mean, I did, but I didn't - know what I mean? I met with my new co-worker and her two former managers yesterday to prioritize her work and I trained her a bit in the afternoon. I didn't realize until we all met yesterday that she'll be reporting to me 100%. I thought I was only getting a piece of her. It remains to be seen how much AR work she'll be able to fit in with work she's still responsible for but I'll take anything.

I'm very excited about taking Friday off, as mentioned yesterday. For lunch I'm either thinking of a ravioli store I heard about the other day - or Panera Bread. But I'll be spontaneous. Will too!! This morning, Simon and I are leaving shortly to go see the orthopedic hand doctor about his chipped wrist. Then after work, I'm meeting with my counselor. I've been on such an emotional roller coaster about everything going on in my life. Sunday, I was near tears, couldn't wait to talk to her. Now I'm feeling so much better, it almost seems pointless. But like I've said, I always learn something from her so I know it will be worthwhile.

Off to start my day!

A-Quilling I Shall Go

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I think I've just about perfected my quilled balloon birthday card.

Sunday afternoon I sorted out all my quilling strips of paper. I bought a tube of "Scrappin' Sticks" at the scrapbook store a while back and these are all the 1/8" strips. (There are more colors, I've already used some.) I'll use the 1/4" strips for something else - paper weaving, maybe. I wanted them separated by color because to make the balloons, I glue two strips together to make them 24" long.

When these are gone, I'll try cutting my own strips. I'm worried that most of the cardstock I own is a bit too heavy but we'll see. If that doesn't work out, I'll buy packages of quilling paper, either by the sheet or already cut in strips. It's dirt cheap so I think buying it in strips makes sense - saves time.

Then I started making balloons. Next I'll cut all the paper for the cards, stamp the Happy Birthday and start gluing the balloons onto the card. I really like mass-producing like this because it's so mindless once you get going. I watch a lot of craft shows on HGTV while doing stuff like this. Warms my heart.

~ ~ ~

Yesterday, it finally happened - I'll have help at work. I was told about it late Friday afternoon but the person who will be helping me was off that day so she wasn't told about it until Monday afternoon. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far, no shoe. She's an excellent employee, very nice and seems happy with the change. She and I are meeting this morning to get organized. She'll still be doing her other work so I don't really know how much time she can give me. But I'll take whatever I can get - two hours day minimum would mean a lot. She's someone I know I can work well with and I'm relieved the training will be less than if we hired a temp, which was the other direction we were going.

I also asked my boss if I can take Friday off. I've had it on the calendar for a couple of months but then it became clear I really wouldn't be able to - my choice, based on workload and people depending on me, being the only one in Accounts Receivable these days. This week I decided I really need a Stefani Day, and that's a good one to take off - the day before my 50th birthday - so I asked him via email. I've been stretched so thin, I was afraid I'd cry if I asked him in person. I told him who could provide back-up for me, blah, blah, blah - and he wrote back. "Of course you can have the day off!" I laughed at how I went overboard in selling him on the idea.

He knows I've been swamped. The other day, I went into his office to hand him some papers, opened my mouth to speak and my eyes filled with tears. He felt so bad, "What's wrong? What happened?" I excused myself, went to the ladies room, dabbed my eyes, took a deep breath and went back in his office. "That was just me being overwhelmed. So the thing I emailed you about..." and went right back to business. When I got back to my desk, I emailed Steve, "I hate being a woman!!" Steve told me that night that he thinks it's ridiculous that women always feel so bad about crying at work. That's just how we are wired, he says. No one thinks less of us for doing that. I was shocked! I know he's an enlightened male - but I didn't know he was that enlightened! He was a little insulted when I told him that, I think. We laughed.

I think the promise of this help has prompted me to let my guard down, to slow down the plate spinning. Last night, Steve had dinner with his daughter and Simon went to a friend's house so I had the place to myself. I parked my butt in the comfy recliner and watched Tivoed shows for four hours straight, then went to bed. My friend Sherry, who works in our Buffalo office, drove to Rochester yesterday to take me out to lunch for my birthday. I had such a big lunch, I didn't really eat dinner, just snacked a bit later on.

And today, I find myself finally looking forward to my Stefani Day on Friday. I'm going to go visit a fine art store I found online that carries the kind of PVA (glue) I've been looking for. They had some other neat stuff so I was putting together an order when I accidentally saw their address - downtown Rochester! I'm also toying with the idea of going to see Brokeback Mountain again - yes, that's how much I loved it. But Pam and I are planning on watching it together again when it comes out on DVD so I'll probably skip seeing it in the theater a second time.

What I think I'll do instead is go see the Extreme Materials exhibit at the Memorial Art Gallery. It's art made out of odd things, like duck sauce packets, dog tags, cable ties, window envelopes and peach pits. (Those are all separate pieces, by the way.) Wacky stuff. It's near the art store - and the gallery opens at 11:00 so that would be perfect. Then I'll take myself out to a lovely lunch.

Wow - I'm getting so excited!! I can't wait - can't remember the last Stefani Day I had.

Things You Might Not Know About Me

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Tagged from my sister Gretchen's blog . . .

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Jill of all trades at Sears Eastview Coffee Shop.
2. Housekeeper at a Marriott - lasted two weeks - hated it.
3. Office admin/accounting person at several companies.
4. Accounting Supervisor at computer reseller.

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. For Love of the Game
3. Brokeback Mountain
4. Dances with Wolves

Four places you have lived:
1. Chamblee, GA
2. Ridgewood, NJ
3. Pittsford, NY
4. Hiram, OH

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Oprah
2. Dr. Phil
3. Carol Duvall
4. West Wing

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. New York City
2. Sweden
3. Cleveland, OH
4. Adirondack Mountains

Four websites I visit daily:
1. http://www.rosie.com/
2. http://www.stefanitadio.com/
3. http://gretchenstahlman.blogspot.com/
4. http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Ice Cream
2. Cookies
3. Popcorn
4. Soup

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. My studio.
2. My deck on a nice summer day.
3. On a massage table.
4. All alone and far away.

Four friends I think will respond: (except I think they've all already done this!)
1. Mary
2. Maria
3. Ann
4. Hilari

Big Bed

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that Steve bought us a new bed - a king sized bed. I bought Simon a new double bed at the same time - he'd had a futon in his room for years. Both are really high and our sweet beagle, Reggi, had trouble jumping up on them. So Steve bought 2 sets of pet steps, one for each bed. The nice wood ones run pretty expensive so these are carpet covered Styrofoam but they don't look too bad and seem to work just fine. It still takes some coaxing to get Reggi to use them, mainly because she still thinks she can successfully jump up on the bed. She can do that sometimes, when she's feeling energetic. If she's lethargic and just moving her napping body from one place to another, her hind end just can't hoist itself up over the edge. We tell her we're laughing with her, not at her, as her little legs scramble for purchase. She fails to see the humor.

The linens are one of the "Bed in a Bag" things because A) it was on sale and B) I didn't feel like dealing with buying separate stuff as the bed was being delivered the next day. It's okay, I'm not wild about it. It's a "Trading Spaces" brand. I actually like the other side of the comforter better but then it matches the bedskirt and looks way too matchy-matchy. The colors match our adjoining terra cotta bathroom so the southwest theme continues, more or less.

Which brings me to my next question. Once before I mentioned that I've never had pillow shams before. Shocking, I know. So this set came with the shams but my question is - do I just use regular pillows in them? Old or cheap pillows, right? I guess that's a dumb question but I thought maybe they make something special for use with shams.

That olive green thing on top of the bed is Reggi's dog bed. We put it on the floor next to my side of the bed when we go to sleep. She quite often sleeps on that until she gets cold in the middle of the night (our furnace is programmed to dip while we're sleeping). Then she comes up on the bed with us. She usually crawls under the covers and flounces down right next to my legs. My own personal heating pad. Of course lately, most nights I could do without that feature. But mostly with this new king size bed and it's vast real estate, I don't mind at all. Sometimes both cats will join us at night too. We put the dog bed on the bed during the day so she can gaze out the windows in comfort.

I'm sure this is true for lots of people when they get new beds but I had no idea how bad our old bed was until we got this one. Steve was the one that kept saying we needed new mattresses but I mostly thought he was just angling for a bigger bed. I'm not always the world's best sleeper but I have never slept so good as I do in this bed. I never dreaded going to bed before, but now I can't wait for bed-time! I was waking up every morning with a backache, which I attributed to being overweight and/or Reggi being a bed-hog. Now it's a joy to go to bed and a joy to wake up refreshed.

Pictures So Sweet You Just Might Get Cavities

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By Every Thursday, I'm Ready For One of These

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Simon's doing fine - still sore with a killer headache. His eye is swollen shut and the black and blue has moved from eye shadow mode to eye liner mode. He is not amused. I made his doctors' appointments yesterday. He gets his stitches out Saturday morning and sees the orthopedic hand doctor (Dr. Mitten!) for his bone chipped wrist follow-up next Wednesday.

One funny story related to that. Steve had a pretty shitty day at work on Tuesday. He was telling me about it and I said, "So I spent 4-1/2 hours in Emergency, watching my kid get his face stitched up and I still had a better day than you did??" Poor guy. He's overworked so I'm trying to make sure he's overloved at home. That's good for me too - makes me feel loved and useful and keeps me from being too self-absorbed.

The work resolution (getting me help while my AR counterpart is on extended medical leave) is close to resolution but not there yet. We went through about 4 plans yesterday, things keep changing. I expect resolution today. Lots of month end activity happens in accounting of course, but I'll take whatever help, whenever I can get it. Meanwhile I do my best, giving all I can, in a healthy way. I am seeing a definite pattern, not surprisingly. I hit the ground running on Monday, full of enthusiasm. That wanes throughout the week. Today, Thursday, I'm feeling a little dragged out and by Friday, I'm whipped.

I'm so looking forward to my massage this Friday night! I believe I mentioned I bought a six-session package for a discounted price. Whenever I have been given massage gift certificates in the past (I love my mom), I hoard it, unwilling to use it, like money in the bank for when I reeeaallly need it. When I bought this package last week, she asked me when I wanted to schedule the next one. I was mentally kind of taken aback, "What? Now? So soon??" But I blurted out "Next Friday, same time," and am so glad I did. Next Friday, assuming I have reliable help at work by then, I'd like to take the day off so maybe I'll schedule a Reiki session for the morning, if she's available. Sounds like a good start to a birthday weekend, doesn't it?

So yeah. I turn 50 on March 11. The countdown begins. I'm feeling very good about it. Turning 40 was a major bitch - certainly don't want to do that again. I felt crappy about it from the moment I turned 39. Seriously. Turned out to be a great birthday - loved my 40s.

I plan on loving my 50s and I plan on celebrating it up right, however that works out.

11 Stitches

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Even as the doctor was stitching up Simon's face, I considered whipping out my camera phone for a couple of quick shots for this entry. I refrained.

Simon and a friend were doing laps in gym and decided to race each other. The friend shoved Simon, who tripped over his own feet and slammed face first into a cement wall. (The friend feels really bad. Simon feels bad that his friend feels bad.)

That's the short version. Simon can give you the highly dramatized 40 minute version if you'd like.

He has 11 stitches in his eyebrow and a splint on his wrist - he chipped a bone.

He's not going to school or work today. He powers through any kind of illness or malady pretty quickly. Plus he has a very pressing social life these days, so he won't be down for long, guaranteed.

The cool thing for me is that I'd never seen anyone stitched up before so it was neat I got to watch. I even skootched in for a better angle at one point. It was fascinating. My own personal CSI show!

The other thing that made me happy is Simon's dad and his wife showed up for a while. It surprised me and delighted Simon.

That was my afternoon, 4-1/2 hours spent in the emergency room. So ... what have you been up to?