What a Day

Tonight in the midst of celebrating a birthday and a promotion I received the dreaded call where once you answer it, you know it is bad news. My skating coach and a friend of the family died after a battle with cancer. Approximately 4 months ago I received word she was very ill. I cried like a baby and felt horrible. I had been at the rink with her since I was 6 years old; was a student, an apprentice, and a peer as I grew older. I have a ton of memories and learned many life lessons from her. It is certainly a different sad than when a family member dies but at the same time, very hard to accept. Knowing she lasted long enough to attend one of her daughters weddings is comforting to know and hopefully meant a lot to her family. I have already thought of a million different things of what I would like to write in a sympathy card but as odd as life is; I just read this sentence tonight out of a book I received at graduation taht I think is very fitting of Cathy:

"Although it may not be on your mind right now, the wisdom you glean from your joys and hardships can always be shared with someone else and, by doing so, you will leave the world a little better than when you found it."

Thank you Cathy for the wonderful times and wisdom you passed along. You have touched many lives when your own world wasn't so colorful. The rest I will save in a prayer for you and your family.

Chipotle...I Love You!

Chipotle may not give me the same energy that Dt. Coke does but oh god is it addicting! Within my first two bites I knew I was hooked. What's a girl to do? The nearest restaurant is close to a half hour drive away! Ultimate Burrito...you ain't got nothin' on the Chipotle Burrito Bol (yes, spelled exactly as typed).

Jess and Jerry, I love and hate you for introducing me to this new found favorite food. I am sure Ryan will hate you because now it is the only place I want to go.

Future Melt Down?

I recall approximately 3 weeks ago asking my boss for more work because I was "bored" at work. He didn't have a chance to give me extra work, it fell out of the sky and now I have more than enough. I wish there was a thing called "balanced workload." Many of you also dream of such a thing. It is where you have enough work to keep you busy so the day passes quickly but gives you enough room to take on an extra project and not sweat it or to kick back some days and surf the net or leave a little early.

For the past week and a half, I have been crazy busy. It is all fun stuff and I love seeing things change and improve but man, I am starting to slip. First, my response time on emails has greatly increased from when I receive them to when I get back to people on them. Second, I have a very disorganized desk with notes of things to remember (but the bad thing is my handwriting is so bad I can't read what I wrote or I don't know what my note means by the time I get to it). Third, I am forgetting things that I normally wouldn't or I am confusing projects and people. So many items are closely related but just oh so different. Lastly, I have been good with agendas and meeting minutes but I do my take aways that depend on others for the next step and then I forget to follow up with them since they aren't delivering in a timely fashion.

These last few weeks are making me seriously evaluate how I prioritize and organize myself. I have project folders and email folders; I take notes; I make lists as I go and then at the end of the day consolidate into one master to begin the next day off of; I try to keep up on emails and flag ones that don't need immediate action so I remember to go back and get them taken care of. Does anyone have any other approaches for maintaining a sane approach when everything seems to be an emergency? Oh, and unlike some of you, my emergencies come from many different people, departments, and projects/functional areas. It is hard to filter and they aren't from direct reports-hell, I only have one direct report and she is in the same situation I am.

St. Patrick's Day

I am pleased to say that I came away from a weekend St. Patrick's day without much to complain about. The weather was gorgeous, we hung out with friends, visited three venues, and were safely tucked in bed around midnight. I wore green and was not pinched nor harassed by drunken Irish wannabe's. Very successful. I must be getting wise in my old age or the fact that the first bar was an Irish bar but we left there before any craziness pursued (approximately 6pm) and the other two places we went were far from Irish.

Dt. Coke

I think I am addicted to Dt. Coke. Part of me thinks this is an ok addiction. There aren't any calories and the caffeine isn't too much (well, some days it is just one or two but today I think I had a little too much although...my heart isn't racing). You don't hear serial killers say "Dt. Coke" made me do it. How about car accidents...never heard too much Dt. Coke to blame.

I have heard rumors that it is unhealthy for you. Is it bad for you? I am not sure. I figure one day I will find the time to look the facts up but the only reason I consider it to possibly be bad is that it is replacing a drink that I could be consuming that had added health benefits-like wine or milk. I can hear you snickering that I listed wine first. Yes, the sodium content is high but I already said I like salt more than sweets.

This may be the Dt. Coke talking or the fact that it has been a very long day at work, but I think I am in love with Dt. Coke and not just addicted or infatuated. I don't hear people saying that about Dt. Pepsi (other than Jess).

Misc. Post

I haven't posted in quite a while. I haven't been that busy but then again, I haven't been that bored. I walked on Thursday and then came home and booked a quick cruise for the hubby and me. It is partially his birthday gift and partially a sanity break for me. I can't wait to go. Good thing it is only 4 weeks away!

Friday was a bear at work. Busy and chaotic and of course, I was trying to leave by 3:00pm. Notice I said trying. It was closer to 3:30 when I got out the door. Then I stoppy home, tossed some clothes in a suitcase and was off to my parents.

Saturday my Mom and I went on a mega shopping spree. We spent close to 8 hours shopping (covered 2 malls) and left with many new items (shirts, pants, dresses, swimsuits, flip flops...). My dad cooked up a duck Saturday night (it was like Thanksgiving dinner).

Sunday it was up and off to Target. We realized we were shopped out when we couldn't even "browse" at Target. That is a sad day in a woman's shopping life when she is too sick of shopping to buy stuff at Target. After a quick Taco Bell snack, I was on the road again headed for home.

Last night I spent too much time trying to clean up my computer and get my new crack berry figured out. Needless to say, I gave up on it. Today I got it working and doing some things but I need a techie to help finish the configurations.

This was a rather boring post. Maybe later this week I will have some fun and exciting to share.

Walking Machine

I was able to free myself from the grips of work before 5pm yesterday. Made the call to the walking partner and before you could listen to a whole cd (FL traffic, what can I say) we were off with the hounds. Annie decided she hadn't seen Scooter for a whole whopping 2 days and it was if it had been years. She wanted to pull me most of the first mile which causes a great arm/back workout. After the half way mark she settled a little. Then right before our house the monster that lives behind the fence came snarling at her. She thinks its fun to act tough in front of Scooter so she had to pull me over to the fence and show she could growl and snarl just like that ugly monster. Dang dogs. Then we dropped them off and went for a quicker paced walk. I think we put in close to 5 miles yesterday. My legs are very tired today but I feel pretty good.

The hubby made fajitas while I hopped in the shower. It was tempting to eat a ton of them because they were yummy but I didn't. I even passed on an ice cold beer. Yeah, I know. Pretty amazing for the girl that has no self control.

Best Intentions

Sometimes the best intentions are only met half way. That is how starting exercising on the days I don't walk were met today. I thought about it, was excited about it, had some new things to try, but didn't leave work until 7pm. After I got home I said to hell with it but I didn't have a drink, I didn't over eat with dinner, and I plan on going to bed early. So, at least mentally I am getting closer to acting upon my word.

Today was jam packed with meetings from 9:30 this morning until 4:30 this afternoon. Needless to say, 4:30-7:00 was actual "get some work done" time. I truly have a reason to hate Mondays. Tomorrow is walking night. I just hope to get out of work earlier tomorrow. I only have half of my day booked with meetings.

Dog Walk

Today was the annual "Walk for the Animals." I have wanted to go for the last couple years but things always popped up. This year, Annie, Ryan, Scooter, Jerry, Emma, Elaine, and I went. I have to say, I have never seen so many hounds in one place at one time. Big ones, little ones, young ones, old ones, some missing legs and teeth, pure breds, and mutts. It would have been fun but it was miserably hot and crowded. Annie did well (it helped having Scooter there). She only snarled at a few dogs that got too close to her bum or to me. Traffic was a witch and so was trying to pay for parking. We stopped for a drink afterwards but some stupid lady with a cat (yes, a cat with a sweater and a leash on!) sat next to us. Emma decided that cat would be a nice tasty treat so we decided to head home before we ordered. Who in the world brings a cat to a dog walk?!?! Only in Florida.