lifeinflux

2009 – A Year in Review

On December 31, 2008, I was sitting at Office of Personnel Management, sending out 45,312 emails to GoLearn users who were on the system but not paying for their usage.    I was also dealing with two new hires that I regretted hiring about a week after they were brought on board.  But they were my hires and I was stuck with them and all the good, bad and ugly of my soul-sucking job.  I hadn't yet lost all hope and accepted that the only good was the fat paycheck so with great naivete and hope, I...

Plan of attack

Last night I peeked at my progress on my 101 things in 1001 days list and, to be honest, it's not great. Sure, I managed to juggle building my company and landing those first few, all-important contracts while running the Drama Club program at Drue's school. And that is an accomplishment in and of itself. And I managed those long 60 plus hour work weeks without consuming a drop of soda. And I managed one Daring Cooks challenge back in late October but I did not have the time to really g...

Spock would be proud

I knew I was in trouble this morning the moment I opened my eyes.   Mimir, otherwise known as The Cat™, was sitting by my head frantically pushing at my face.  There are wonderful ways to be nudged from sleep.  There are great ways to be nudged from sleep.  Shoot, there are even "okay, I wanted to sleep but you woke me up" ways to be nudged from sleep.   Having a cat push her paw into your cheekbone is not any of them.    It is, however, effective.  Since I went to bed around 5:30 AM after pulli...

And now with one-stop shopping for Hot Bear Spray

There are a few times in my life where I've had to eat my words.  My mom would say there were many times I've had to eat a little crow.  And she'd then tell you about my Corporate America speech circa '92, or the "no fast or processed food in my child" speech of '99.    Just for kickers she might tell you about the four months I swore off all animal products and tried going vegan during the Mad Cow scare of '02.   My mom has a mind like a steel trap and the memory of an elephant.   Thank god she...

My life of late… better know as insanity

I'm a chronic volunteer.   I cannot stand a need not getting done.  I'm Type-A, except when I'm not.  And then I'm so Type C you wonder where all that OCD, anal-retentive, I alphabetize my DVDs and color-coordinate my outfits to my underoos, dominant - and occasionally domineering - life is a project and I must manage it, personality goes.   Well, I'm here to give you the answer.  My Type-A personality goes to Madagascar.   Why Madagascar?   I don't know.  I just like saying "Madagascar".   But ...

Count your many blessings…

I know what you're doing right now... you're counting down from week one to two to three to um... six?    Yes, I know how to count and no, I did not bump my head and go into a coma for two weeks.  Nor did I contract swine flu and spend the last two weeks in bed (although lord-a-mercy the thought of two weeks in bed just sounds so good right now).    Weeks 4 and 5 are coming!   They are, in fact, being written right now, at this very minute, while you sit here reading about this week, week 6.  So...

A very merry un-aversary

Eleven years ago, Jason and I got hitched for better or worse in the Hillsborough courthouse in front of a jail cell by one Mr. Cleatus A. Marmaduke III.   He had bug eyes, wore a blue and white checked polyester suit and moved and talked like he existed in a vat of molasses (pronounced MOE-lasses for you uninitiated).    One of our witnesses made the comment that the setting and the justice of the peace looked like something out of a bad Southern movie you'd find on Lifetime.   I was roughly th...

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I want to full-on, smooch all over the person who invented Tamiflu because without this little wonder drug, I wouldn't be posting at all.   Instead, I'd be cleaning up projectile vomit for the second night in a row and wishing I would just die and put myself out of my own misery.  But I'm leaping ahead of my entire week and starting with the ending.  While this is just like me, I figure if you're reading you want the entire recap and not just praise of my new H1N1-destroying wonder drug. Hone...

Who we talking ’bout here?

Ever had one of those weeks where you were so busy, you wonder how you got to Monday?   And were you so busy that when you got to Monday, all the stuff you did was a blur and you can't quite put your finger on exactly what kept you so busy that entire time?   That was my week, last week.   And while I'm doing a lot of tasks that seem simple and mundane to the outside viewer, I find myself calmer and happier than I've been in a long time.    Well, okay, except last Wednesday night, but I'm allowe...

Halloween to Hoochie-ween (and really not much in between)

Shopping for Halloween costumes with my tween is akin to getting a root canal. I've never had a root canal but I know people who have and they never emerge from the dentist's chair smiling. In fact, they often look like they are caught in that place between sheer, outright pain and Novocaine and it's not a good place to be. And that's the look on my face after visiting multiple Halloween stores and Party City.   Because Drue is tall, she no longer fits into child-sized costumes. While they sti...