Yesterday we had more layoffs at my office, including one of my own employees. So, I had to not only escort one of someone else's employees out the door (who had over 20 years into the company), but I had to tell one of my employees that he does not have a job anymore (who had more than 10 years in at the company and a spouse who has major health issues).
It was a wretched day. I'm still spent and emotional this morning and I want to drown my sorrows in a giant bin of Chubby Hubby, a giant cheeseburger, a giant order of fries and a keg.
I want to cry but every time the tears have started to well up, it has not been the time to cry and I've had to choke it back. Then when I get by myself and it would be appropriate to cry, I can't.
Oh weekend, please come fast.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What do you do?
Question: What do you do when you have a raging caffeine every morning habit and you find yourself sick of coffee?
Answer: Suffer a debilitating headache or drink soda pop which will surely result in the return of adolescent era acne face and cause a 10 lb weight gain.
Question: Why does the thought of coffee make me want to vomit the past week or so? (and I'm not pregnant)
I'm having an identity crisis. Someone please remind me who I am!
Answer: Suffer a debilitating headache or drink soda pop which will surely result in the return of adolescent era acne face and cause a 10 lb weight gain.
Question: Why does the thought of coffee make me want to vomit the past week or so? (and I'm not pregnant)
I'm having an identity crisis. Someone please remind me who I am!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
I'm NOT Old. Right?
We went to the movies yesterday afternoon and went to the concession stand to get a couple of drinks. Dave ordered an iced tea and I ordered a small Mountain Dew (just a small vice these days. I only drink about 1 every 6 months. That's impressive if you knew me during my 1 every 6 minutes phase in college).
Anyway, the concession stand cashier was probably 16 or 17, I guess. He asked me if instead of my fountain Mountain Dew if I would like to try a Mountain Dew "Throwback". To which I replied, "Huh?"
So this is what he tells me. "Mountain Dew Throwback is a new version of Mountain Dew that is like the "old Mountain Dew" and is sweetened with sugar. It's the same formula they used to use, you know, like, back in the 90's"
Ya'll, I googled Mountain Dew Throwback. It is based on the formula used in the 60's and 70's.
He's right, that is, like, almost the same thing.
Anyway, the concession stand cashier was probably 16 or 17, I guess. He asked me if instead of my fountain Mountain Dew if I would like to try a Mountain Dew "Throwback". To which I replied, "Huh?"
So this is what he tells me. "Mountain Dew Throwback is a new version of Mountain Dew that is like the "old Mountain Dew" and is sweetened with sugar. It's the same formula they used to use, you know, like, back in the 90's"
Ya'll, I googled Mountain Dew Throwback. It is based on the formula used in the 60's and 70's.
He's right, that is, like, almost the same thing.
Friday, June 19, 2009
I Could be a Dietitian
Becca had her appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist this morning. Wow, that was quite a production. The appointment was at 8am and we were for three hours.
I have mixed feelings about it. Dave and I and Dave's mom went and Becca's mom met us there. It was a lot of peeps to cram into one exam room!
We saw three different people. First the RN came in to talk to us about the whole situation. She went over Becca's lab results from the blood test and asked us tons of questions about her diet and her level of activity. We were probably with her for about an hour.
After that, the dietician came in. She asked us some more questions about Becca's diet and then basically just went over the food wheel with us. To be honest with you (and not to sound arrogant) but she really didn't tell me much that I didn't already know. She didn't give us a prescribed diet plan, she just wrote down how many servings of each food group that we should be giving Becca and made some recommendations about certain foods. For instance, she told us that we should only be drinking low fat milk, yogurt and cheese. We already do that. Well, except for the cheese. I buy regular fat cheese for myself because I am a princess and I don't like low fat cheese, but have been buying 2% cheese for Becca for a while now. She eats it with no complaints. (Sidebar: Kraft makes 2% cheddar slices that are one serving individually wrapped which are actually quite tasty.)
After the dietitian was finished we saw the doctor. We had already decided before she came in that if she was told us that we needed to put Becca on medication that we were going to refuse. All three of us were in agreement on that. But she did no recommend medication, so it was a non-issue. She said she felt confident that we can fix this with diet and exercise. Which I would say I agree with.
And that was it. We have to go back in January. They will check her blood again then and we'll see where we are at.
Here is where my mixed feelings come into play. In a way, I think this was a good thing as far as it will force everyone to get on board with making sure the kid eats better. It brought attention to an issue that I have been tearing my hair out about for a couple of years now. But it really wasn't anything earth shattering. I'm curious to see how much of this my health insurance covers because, like I said, the dietitian didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. If Dave's mom and the other would have just listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have to do this. I don't mean to sound like I never give the kid bad food because in the past 6-8 months I had kind of given up and probably wasn't doing all that well with her myself.....
So, in a nutshell, this is considered preventative maintenance. Her cholesterol is high, her triglycerides are slightly high. She needs to eat better and exercise more. It's not rocket science. Hopefully all parties involved can work as a team to make sure the problem gets better, not worse.
And that's all I have to say about that.
I have mixed feelings about it. Dave and I and Dave's mom went and Becca's mom met us there. It was a lot of peeps to cram into one exam room!
We saw three different people. First the RN came in to talk to us about the whole situation. She went over Becca's lab results from the blood test and asked us tons of questions about her diet and her level of activity. We were probably with her for about an hour.
After that, the dietician came in. She asked us some more questions about Becca's diet and then basically just went over the food wheel with us. To be honest with you (and not to sound arrogant) but she really didn't tell me much that I didn't already know. She didn't give us a prescribed diet plan, she just wrote down how many servings of each food group that we should be giving Becca and made some recommendations about certain foods. For instance, she told us that we should only be drinking low fat milk, yogurt and cheese. We already do that. Well, except for the cheese. I buy regular fat cheese for myself because I am a princess and I don't like low fat cheese, but have been buying 2% cheese for Becca for a while now. She eats it with no complaints. (Sidebar: Kraft makes 2% cheddar slices that are one serving individually wrapped which are actually quite tasty.)
After the dietitian was finished we saw the doctor. We had already decided before she came in that if she was told us that we needed to put Becca on medication that we were going to refuse. All three of us were in agreement on that. But she did no recommend medication, so it was a non-issue. She said she felt confident that we can fix this with diet and exercise. Which I would say I agree with.
And that was it. We have to go back in January. They will check her blood again then and we'll see where we are at.
Here is where my mixed feelings come into play. In a way, I think this was a good thing as far as it will force everyone to get on board with making sure the kid eats better. It brought attention to an issue that I have been tearing my hair out about for a couple of years now. But it really wasn't anything earth shattering. I'm curious to see how much of this my health insurance covers because, like I said, the dietitian didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. If Dave's mom and the other would have just listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have to do this. I don't mean to sound like I never give the kid bad food because in the past 6-8 months I had kind of given up and probably wasn't doing all that well with her myself.....
So, in a nutshell, this is considered preventative maintenance. Her cholesterol is high, her triglycerides are slightly high. She needs to eat better and exercise more. It's not rocket science. Hopefully all parties involved can work as a team to make sure the problem gets better, not worse.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
I survived the Chicago trip, skipped the conference but opted to drive home with the wives on Monday rather than fly home by myself. I waited until the last possible moment to make this decision because I forgot to bring my flying tranquilizers with me and I was not really looking forward to the flying. Plus it seems like a huge hassle for what is essentially 45 minutes in the air. We are only 4 hour drive from Chi-town.
Anyway, the other two women were very nice and I felt comfortable enough with them to make the drive. My dad met us in Ann Arbor and drove me home from there. It was a nice weekend and we actually had a really good time. However, I spent the rest of last week paying for the partying we did. It seems to take me a week to recover from a couple late nights these days. We saw 2am both Friday and Saturday (although I really didn't drink that much).
When we go out of town, Dave's mom stays at our house and Becca gets to sleep in the big comfortable bed that is in our spare room. As an extra bonus to her, there is a tv in that bedroom with cable so she gets to watch Hannah Montana in bed which never happens when we are home. So when I showed up at home a day early, she was mad at me for shorting her a night in the big bed. She even treated me to the crossed arms and the pouty lip. So I let her spend the night at Dave's mom's house and as a bonus to me, I had the house completely to myself for an entire evening. I think it has been about a year since I have been alone in the house by myself for more than an hour or two. I read a book, uninterrupted for for 3 hours and stayed up way past my bedtime thereby adding to the lingering exhaustion of the Chicago weekend. It was bliss.
Dave got home Wednesday evening which also happened to be our 3 year anniversary. We celebrated by having dinner at Cracker Barrel and renting a so-so movie called Defiance which is another WWII period movie of which I sick to death. There wasn't much to choose from. I would have rather watched Friends all night.
Then Dave got the brilliant idea to paint the inside of our house this past weekend. I hate painting. I detest it and I'm a total perfectionist, want it to be perfect and am sucky at painting so it is never perfect. So this is not what I wanted to spend the weekend doing. But, he was right in one respect, our house needs to be painted. It is still the builder special of flat white paint which shows everything. And with two kiddies running around the house, there is a lot of everything on our walls. The reason I have been putting off painting is three-fold, #1 the aforementioned suckiness at painting of yours truly, #2 the lack of funds to pay some one to paint it for me and #3 the fact that we have an open floor plan in our 1st floor means that every wall bleeds from one room into another thereby necessitating either a) painting the entire downstairs in the same color, or b) choosing colors that complement each other which brings me to hidden point #4 which is that I do not feel confident in my decorating abilities. All that translates into 3 years in a house with flat white walls everywhere.
So to say the least, I was resistant to the suggestion to paint, but I acquiesced on the promise that I would not have to participate in the actual painting. I was disturbed by Dave's plan that he was not going to tape, but I dutifully went to Lowe's on Friday night, chose four colors that seem to complement each other and off we went.
So of course we ended up taping and I ended up helping, but in the end, I have to say, the house looks beautiful. We still have to tackle the fireplace and the foyer, but the hard stuff (the living room and kitchen) are finished and Dave made me tell him every hour on the hour how he was right. So for the record, Dave was right and I was wrong.
Anyway, the other two women were very nice and I felt comfortable enough with them to make the drive. My dad met us in Ann Arbor and drove me home from there. It was a nice weekend and we actually had a really good time. However, I spent the rest of last week paying for the partying we did. It seems to take me a week to recover from a couple late nights these days. We saw 2am both Friday and Saturday (although I really didn't drink that much).
When we go out of town, Dave's mom stays at our house and Becca gets to sleep in the big comfortable bed that is in our spare room. As an extra bonus to her, there is a tv in that bedroom with cable so she gets to watch Hannah Montana in bed which never happens when we are home. So when I showed up at home a day early, she was mad at me for shorting her a night in the big bed. She even treated me to the crossed arms and the pouty lip. So I let her spend the night at Dave's mom's house and as a bonus to me, I had the house completely to myself for an entire evening. I think it has been about a year since I have been alone in the house by myself for more than an hour or two. I read a book, uninterrupted for for 3 hours and stayed up way past my bedtime thereby adding to the lingering exhaustion of the Chicago weekend. It was bliss.
Dave got home Wednesday evening which also happened to be our 3 year anniversary. We celebrated by having dinner at Cracker Barrel and renting a so-so movie called Defiance which is another WWII period movie of which I sick to death. There wasn't much to choose from. I would have rather watched Friends all night.
Then Dave got the brilliant idea to paint the inside of our house this past weekend. I hate painting. I detest it and I'm a total perfectionist, want it to be perfect and am sucky at painting so it is never perfect. So this is not what I wanted to spend the weekend doing. But, he was right in one respect, our house needs to be painted. It is still the builder special of flat white paint which shows everything. And with two kiddies running around the house, there is a lot of everything on our walls. The reason I have been putting off painting is three-fold, #1 the aforementioned suckiness at painting of yours truly, #2 the lack of funds to pay some one to paint it for me and #3 the fact that we have an open floor plan in our 1st floor means that every wall bleeds from one room into another thereby necessitating either a) painting the entire downstairs in the same color, or b) choosing colors that complement each other which brings me to hidden point #4 which is that I do not feel confident in my decorating abilities. All that translates into 3 years in a house with flat white walls everywhere.
So to say the least, I was resistant to the suggestion to paint, but I acquiesced on the promise that I would not have to participate in the actual painting. I was disturbed by Dave's plan that he was not going to tape, but I dutifully went to Lowe's on Friday night, chose four colors that seem to complement each other and off we went.
So of course we ended up taping and I ended up helping, but in the end, I have to say, the house looks beautiful. We still have to tackle the fireplace and the foyer, but the hard stuff (the living room and kitchen) are finished and Dave made me tell him every hour on the hour how he was right. So for the record, Dave was right and I was wrong.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Anxiety, Friends, Refrigerators, Chicago and Right-Brainers
I hate myself for going so long in between posts. I think about posting all the time and in fact, have sat down and started to type several posts. But the words just haven't been flowing.
Nothing is wrong. I've just had nothing to say, or more accurately, everything I have wanted to say wouldn't come out in any sort of coherent stream. I'm still struggling, but I'm forcing myself to type this in the hope that something will click and the words will just start pouring out.
So far that isn't happening.
So here are the things I wanted to talk about. Anxiety, Friends, Refrigerators, Chicago and Right-Brainers.
Anxiety: Sometimes I think I am nuts. Okay, sometimes I know I am nuts. My husband does not understand why when he takes an afternoon service call and does not call to tell me that he is going to be late and said service call is in a hospital or jail where he does not get a cell phone signal and I am trying to call him for 2 hours and cannot get a hold of him, don't know where he is or why he isn't home on time, my natural conclusion is that he must have been in a horrific car crash. And panic ensues to the point that I am totally unreasonable and inconsolable until I finally hear from him. Is this just me? Someone else please tell me that they do this too or I will be convinced that I am a total freak.
Friends: I invested in the complete Friends series on DVD. Dave never watched Friends and was convinced that it was a girly show, but I have converted him. We've been working our way through those and surprise! Sam likes it too. They both laugh their butts off and we have fun watching the episodes together. We love Joey.
Refrigerators: My dream has come true. Dave's mom bought a new refrigerator and gave us her old one which we have placed in the garage and I have been putting it to good use by placing in it all our canned and bottled beverages. Also, we had a birthday party a couple weeks ago for my dad and Sam and I was able to place all the large bowls of food in there without having to spend a half hour shifting stuff around in our inside fridge to try and make room for it. It's bliss. I love it. Plus I the fridge in my kitchen looks so much neater and less cluttery.
Chicago: Dave and I are going to Chi-town for the weekend. This has been planned for months but I have been so busy that it snuck up on me and I feel all panicky about going out of town. I have no time to get ready and I was supposed to be staying for a conference next week which I can't attend now because I have to be at work for an audit. So Dave is mad at me because we have been planning to go to this conference for a year and now he is stuck there without me. His two colleagues will be there with him so he won't be alone and he'll get some guy time. Truth be told, I am kind of relieved because I was not really looking forward to spending three days with three guys. The problem is that I don't know how I am going to get home. We are driving but I need to leave the car with Dave so I either have to rent a car and drive back by myself, buy a one way flight home and have my dad pick me up from the airport or drive back with the other two wives who know each other really well but who I don't know that well and I am such a control freak psycho introvert that the idea of that makes me all floofy. I'm leaning toward the one way flight.
Right-brainers: Dave is reading a book about how right-brained people are going to rule the world in the not so distant future. I haven't read the book myself yet, but from what he has told me so far, I like what I'm hearing. Being a right-brainer myself, I love the idea that my natural inclinations will be more valued in the future. I have spent most of my post-college career trying to stamp out my right-brain inclinations in favor of a more left-brained approach (to the detriment of my mental health-it's exhausting trying to be something you're not. Plus I hate it). So, hopefully these changes come about before I retire. Apparently, according to the book, the MFA is quickly becoming the new MBA. (Alison, if you still read my blog, listen up). If this concept peaks your interest at all, the book is called A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. I linked it for you. Check it out my right-brained friends - cuz I know most of you are. Right-Brained that is. Remember I haven't read the book yet, so if it sucks, it's not my fault.
Nothing is wrong. I've just had nothing to say, or more accurately, everything I have wanted to say wouldn't come out in any sort of coherent stream. I'm still struggling, but I'm forcing myself to type this in the hope that something will click and the words will just start pouring out.
So far that isn't happening.
So here are the things I wanted to talk about. Anxiety, Friends, Refrigerators, Chicago and Right-Brainers.
Anxiety: Sometimes I think I am nuts. Okay, sometimes I know I am nuts. My husband does not understand why when he takes an afternoon service call and does not call to tell me that he is going to be late and said service call is in a hospital or jail where he does not get a cell phone signal and I am trying to call him for 2 hours and cannot get a hold of him, don't know where he is or why he isn't home on time, my natural conclusion is that he must have been in a horrific car crash. And panic ensues to the point that I am totally unreasonable and inconsolable until I finally hear from him. Is this just me? Someone else please tell me that they do this too or I will be convinced that I am a total freak.
Friends: I invested in the complete Friends series on DVD. Dave never watched Friends and was convinced that it was a girly show, but I have converted him. We've been working our way through those and surprise! Sam likes it too. They both laugh their butts off and we have fun watching the episodes together. We love Joey.
Refrigerators: My dream has come true. Dave's mom bought a new refrigerator and gave us her old one which we have placed in the garage and I have been putting it to good use by placing in it all our canned and bottled beverages. Also, we had a birthday party a couple weeks ago for my dad and Sam and I was able to place all the large bowls of food in there without having to spend a half hour shifting stuff around in our inside fridge to try and make room for it. It's bliss. I love it. Plus I the fridge in my kitchen looks so much neater and less cluttery.
Chicago: Dave and I are going to Chi-town for the weekend. This has been planned for months but I have been so busy that it snuck up on me and I feel all panicky about going out of town. I have no time to get ready and I was supposed to be staying for a conference next week which I can't attend now because I have to be at work for an audit. So Dave is mad at me because we have been planning to go to this conference for a year and now he is stuck there without me. His two colleagues will be there with him so he won't be alone and he'll get some guy time. Truth be told, I am kind of relieved because I was not really looking forward to spending three days with three guys. The problem is that I don't know how I am going to get home. We are driving but I need to leave the car with Dave so I either have to rent a car and drive back by myself, buy a one way flight home and have my dad pick me up from the airport or drive back with the other two wives who know each other really well but who I don't know that well and I am such a control freak psycho introvert that the idea of that makes me all floofy. I'm leaning toward the one way flight.
Right-brainers: Dave is reading a book about how right-brained people are going to rule the world in the not so distant future. I haven't read the book myself yet, but from what he has told me so far, I like what I'm hearing. Being a right-brainer myself, I love the idea that my natural inclinations will be more valued in the future. I have spent most of my post-college career trying to stamp out my right-brain inclinations in favor of a more left-brained approach (to the detriment of my mental health-it's exhausting trying to be something you're not. Plus I hate it). So, hopefully these changes come about before I retire. Apparently, according to the book, the MFA is quickly becoming the new MBA. (Alison, if you still read my blog, listen up). If this concept peaks your interest at all, the book is called A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. I linked it for you. Check it out my right-brained friends - cuz I know most of you are. Right-Brained that is. Remember I haven't read the book yet, so if it sucks, it's not my fault.
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