So yeah. Put in something like 32 hours this past weekend, culminating at 3:30am Monday morning. Combined with the time I worked the previous weekend, I technically shouldn't have to come to work at all this week. (We go on a two-week pay cycle, Saturday through Friday, of which this is the second week. A normal pay cycle should have about 80 hours charged to it; as of right now, I'm at 89.)
Except of course that there are at least a few things that really have to be done. I came in to work yesterday (late) for about four hours, then went home (early) and took a nap.
I expect today to be my longest work day of the week, because I'm running a training session this afternoon that might run as late as 3:30. After that's over, I'm going home. Either Wednesday or Thursday I want to take off entirely, and I fully expect to come in late and/or leave early every other day this week as well. I'm only coming in at all because we have documents to deliver and the person who'd usually cover for me if I wasn't here is out on maternity leave. I believe the word we're looking for here is "lackadaisical". I have already informed my boss of this plan. (Note that I did not ask him. I just told him. And my minion who worked 30 hours this weekend along with me took yesterday off and has been given tacit approval to take as much time off as our schedule will allow, as well. Though she isn't salaried, so she might choose to work the rest of the week normally and collect a juicy overtime check.)
By the way, muchmany thanks to Matt and both kids for being so awesome about my crap working hours lately. Matt has uncomplainingly taken on the single parenting duties, and the kids have been pretty good for him (well, within the confines of their abilities. They're six and almost-two; let's not expect miracles). Matt brought the kids up to visit me at work for a bit on Sunday, and I raided the office supply closet to give Penny a pad of mini sticky-notes. (She's easily won; what can I say?) When I got home Monday morning at 3:30 or so, I found a sticky-note on my laptop that said "I love Mommy" and another one that was a picture of me and Penny inside a heart. She'd also used them to put various labels on everyone's bedroom door, and at everyone's seat at the dining table. It was exactly the smile that I needed before I crawled into bed.
And Alex has always been affectionate and happy to be cuddled, but lately he's been piling on the unasked-for hugs and those wonderfully precious full-on barreling run-and-fling-into-Mommy's-arms embraces that warm me the way nothing else possibly can. I have the best family EVAR.
Plans for my time off: I want to get my camera and go wander the Colonial area to take pictures; and I need to go shopping for clothes, because I only have three long-sleeved shirts that fit, and half-sleeves are not doing it for me this fall. (I may actually need a real coat this winter.) Other than that, I plan to do Not Much Of Anything. Write a little, perhaps. Work on my scrapbook. Plan for my trip to Atlanta next month. Watch movies and TV. Stare into space and drool slightly.
And when the weekend comes, I will Not Work. I promised Penny we could make a "special breakfast" one day -- she hasn't decided yet what that means, but I suspect either pancakes or french toast. It being the last weekend before Hallowe'en, we should take the kids to Pumpkinville to pick out our pumpkins. Maybe go visit my parents. Whatever. Anything that is Not Work.
Next week begins a new pay period, with a normal work schedule. But right now, I can barely plan past my next cup of coffee. And that's kind of how I'm liking it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Doing Good
It's Friday.
Not that Friday means all that much to me, just now. I worked last weekend and the weekend before that, and I'm going to be working this weekend, too. All "Friday" means, right now, is that I could've worn jeans to work (though I didn't) and that when I come in tomorrow, I can wear a t-shirt. Whoo.
Nevertheless, I'm feeling pretty good about today.
Alex's daycare is selling wristbands and keychains to raise money for breast cancer research, and this morning I finally remembered to dig out $5 and buy a couple of wristbands. I gave Penny one (she loves anything pink) that says "Hope" on it. Didn't realize until I got out to the car that mine said "Survivor," which I'm not, but whatever. I turned it inside-out. It's not like I'm going to wear it much. Or even keep it. (Honestly, rubber bracelets of any color are really ugly. Who came up with this?) But I feel pretty good about having made my donation to the cause. Wonder if I could get them to do something to support World Diabetes Day in November? Kind of short notice, though. Eh, well. Maybe next year.
All the toddlers in Alex's class ran over to me to ask for hugs while I was getting his jacket off and put away. I obliged them. I like hugs.
Penny made bracelets last weekend for two of her friends at school. After forgetting them all week, she brought them in the car with her yesterday, but wouldn't put them in her backpack. So naturally, when we got to school, she forgot them. And then got mad at me when I refused to go back out into the pouring rain to get them for her. So this morning, when I suggested she put them in her backpack so she wouldn't forget them, she took my suggestion... except one of the bracelets was missing.
After we got Alex to daycare, we pretty much emptied out the whole back seat of the car, looking for it, but we couldn't find it. She was obviously disappointed, but mostly took it in stride and agreed that she'd make another bracelet this weekend.
Matt's doing the WatchDOGS program today, so I dropped her off with him rather than walking her up to school myself, but as I was driving out, I happened to glance over and -- spotted the missing bracelet in the parking lot. It must have fallen out of the car yesterday morning. I quickly pulled into a spot, ran over and grabbed the bracelet, then ran to the crosswalk where Matt and Penny were to give it to her. Her eyes lit up and she squealed with delight. "Thank you, Mama!"
That felt pretty good, too.
I'm going to have a good day. You too, okay?
Not that Friday means all that much to me, just now. I worked last weekend and the weekend before that, and I'm going to be working this weekend, too. All "Friday" means, right now, is that I could've worn jeans to work (though I didn't) and that when I come in tomorrow, I can wear a t-shirt. Whoo.
Nevertheless, I'm feeling pretty good about today.
Alex's daycare is selling wristbands and keychains to raise money for breast cancer research, and this morning I finally remembered to dig out $5 and buy a couple of wristbands. I gave Penny one (she loves anything pink) that says "Hope" on it. Didn't realize until I got out to the car that mine said "Survivor," which I'm not, but whatever. I turned it inside-out. It's not like I'm going to wear it much. Or even keep it. (Honestly, rubber bracelets of any color are really ugly. Who came up with this?) But I feel pretty good about having made my donation to the cause. Wonder if I could get them to do something to support World Diabetes Day in November? Kind of short notice, though. Eh, well. Maybe next year.
All the toddlers in Alex's class ran over to me to ask for hugs while I was getting his jacket off and put away. I obliged them. I like hugs.
Penny made bracelets last weekend for two of her friends at school. After forgetting them all week, she brought them in the car with her yesterday, but wouldn't put them in her backpack. So naturally, when we got to school, she forgot them. And then got mad at me when I refused to go back out into the pouring rain to get them for her. So this morning, when I suggested she put them in her backpack so she wouldn't forget them, she took my suggestion... except one of the bracelets was missing.
After we got Alex to daycare, we pretty much emptied out the whole back seat of the car, looking for it, but we couldn't find it. She was obviously disappointed, but mostly took it in stride and agreed that she'd make another bracelet this weekend.
Matt's doing the WatchDOGS program today, so I dropped her off with him rather than walking her up to school myself, but as I was driving out, I happened to glance over and -- spotted the missing bracelet in the parking lot. It must have fallen out of the car yesterday morning. I quickly pulled into a spot, ran over and grabbed the bracelet, then ran to the crosswalk where Matt and Penny were to give it to her. Her eyes lit up and she squealed with delight. "Thank you, Mama!"
That felt pretty good, too.
I'm going to have a good day. You too, okay?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Denning
It is a grey, dark, rainy day. The kind of day where I don't mind so much having to go to work. The kind of day where I don't mind that my office at work has no windows. In fact, the temptation to mostly close my door and den up is pretty strong.
I have three candles burning on the side of my desk, and they smell like apples and pumpkin and cinnamon. Like fall. My space heater is doing its best to keep my little office warm, and in a little while, I'll go get a big mug of vanilla coffee, and that smell will mix with the apple and pumpkin and cinnamon, and I'll nurse it all morning. And when it's gone, I'll have orange spice tea.
There's still work to do. The proposal effort is still going. But the urgency for my part of it has relaxed, for now. I'll probably still have to come in for at least one day this weekend, but I'm not thinking about that, right now. I spent yesterday getting caught up on a bunch of other tasks, and I'm down to just a handful of things to do, today. And they're not things I dread -- they're tasks that might actually help some people, tasks that will provide me with a little bit of challenge, that will exercise talents I don't get to use nearly often enough. I'm even looking forward to them, a little bit.
There are worse ways to spend a dreary dark rainy day than with satisfying work and pleasant smells and tastes and the flicker of candlelight on the periphery.
I am... content.
I have three candles burning on the side of my desk, and they smell like apples and pumpkin and cinnamon. Like fall. My space heater is doing its best to keep my little office warm, and in a little while, I'll go get a big mug of vanilla coffee, and that smell will mix with the apple and pumpkin and cinnamon, and I'll nurse it all morning. And when it's gone, I'll have orange spice tea.
There's still work to do. The proposal effort is still going. But the urgency for my part of it has relaxed, for now. I'll probably still have to come in for at least one day this weekend, but I'm not thinking about that, right now. I spent yesterday getting caught up on a bunch of other tasks, and I'm down to just a handful of things to do, today. And they're not things I dread -- they're tasks that might actually help some people, tasks that will provide me with a little bit of challenge, that will exercise talents I don't get to use nearly often enough. I'm even looking forward to them, a little bit.
There are worse ways to spend a dreary dark rainy day than with satisfying work and pleasant smells and tastes and the flicker of candlelight on the periphery.
I am... content.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Cozywarm
Cozywarm is what my bed was this morning when I didn't want to get up.
But (alas) here I am, ready for another day.
We almost didn't have our group dinner last night, as Jess wasn't feeling terribly well, but she was no longer feverish by afternoon, so we decided to risk it anyway. It was a blast. Having the girls eat at their own table, in a different room from the rest of us, worked out really well -- they got to have their own conversation without being overridden by adults, and the grownups got to chat without being interrupted every ten seconds. We did get called in a couple of times, and Matt went in once when it sounded like things were getting a little too rowdy, but all in all: super-fantastic.
Everyone liked the soup (except Jess, who I hadn't realized doesn't like tomatoes -- but I didn't worry about her too much, because she hardly ever eats dinner anyway) and then we had chocolate cake to celebrate Jess's birthday. (Alex ate an entire grownup-sized piece by himself, and then went looking for more, much to Karen's amusement. Eventually, she'll post pictures and I'll snag them.)
They had to leave shortly after dinner, unfortunately, to get Jess home in time for bed. But it was really great while they were visiting. I wish we could see them all more often.
I had a more or less free evening, and I probably should have tried to get some writing done, but I wanted to catch up on my collected RSS feeds, and by the time that was done, it was already almost 9:30. Not really enough time for good writing. So Matt and I watched the TiVO'ed Big Bang Theory and dorked around on our computers, and then I fell into bed and didn't wake up until around 4, when Penny launched herself onto my stomach to tell me she had a really, really, really, really bad dream.
Coffee. Coffee is my friend.
But (alas) here I am, ready for another day.
We almost didn't have our group dinner last night, as Jess wasn't feeling terribly well, but she was no longer feverish by afternoon, so we decided to risk it anyway. It was a blast. Having the girls eat at their own table, in a different room from the rest of us, worked out really well -- they got to have their own conversation without being overridden by adults, and the grownups got to chat without being interrupted every ten seconds. We did get called in a couple of times, and Matt went in once when it sounded like things were getting a little too rowdy, but all in all: super-fantastic.
Everyone liked the soup (except Jess, who I hadn't realized doesn't like tomatoes -- but I didn't worry about her too much, because she hardly ever eats dinner anyway) and then we had chocolate cake to celebrate Jess's birthday. (Alex ate an entire grownup-sized piece by himself, and then went looking for more, much to Karen's amusement. Eventually, she'll post pictures and I'll snag them.)
They had to leave shortly after dinner, unfortunately, to get Jess home in time for bed. But it was really great while they were visiting. I wish we could see them all more often.
I had a more or less free evening, and I probably should have tried to get some writing done, but I wanted to catch up on my collected RSS feeds, and by the time that was done, it was already almost 9:30. Not really enough time for good writing. So Matt and I watched the TiVO'ed Big Bang Theory and dorked around on our computers, and then I fell into bed and didn't wake up until around 4, when Penny launched herself onto my stomach to tell me she had a really, really, really, really bad dream.
Coffee. Coffee is my friend.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Play it By Ear
I actually got to go home and leave all my work at the office last night. It felt wonderful. I even managed to get some writing done. Took me a while to sink into the rhythm of it, but once there, it flowed nicely. And I think I'm achieving some success at updating my character who's supposed to be in his late 20s but previously sounded like he was sixteen. The next scene is going to be harder, because I need one of my characters to make a very difficult decision and reverse a position he's been standing firm on for many years, which is tough to do. But I think I've got a hook that will work. I just need to dig up the time to write it.
I think tonight we're having Karen and KT and Kevin and Jess over for dinner, which will be wonderful. Which means I need to run to the store for ingredients on my way home, and I might need to pick up some cheap soup bowls, because I've got a grand total of 4, which means that even if I give Penny and Jess soup in cereal bowls (which is guaranteed to make a huge mess) I'm still a couple short. (Or possibly this is a good excuse to go pick up a set of not-cheap, nice soup bowls. Even better!)
Of course, our table doesn't seat eight, even in a squeeze, so I think I'm going to let Penny and Jess sit at the kids' little drawing table to eat. I'm sure Penny will be ecstatic at this development. She loves to eat at that table for picnics.
I think tonight we're having Karen and KT and Kevin and Jess over for dinner, which will be wonderful. Which means I need to run to the store for ingredients on my way home, and I might need to pick up some cheap soup bowls, because I've got a grand total of 4, which means that even if I give Penny and Jess soup in cereal bowls (which is guaranteed to make a huge mess) I'm still a couple short. (Or possibly this is a good excuse to go pick up a set of not-cheap, nice soup bowls. Even better!)
Of course, our table doesn't seat eight, even in a squeeze, so I think I'm going to let Penny and Jess sit at the kids' little drawing table to eat. I'm sure Penny will be ecstatic at this development. She loves to eat at that table for picnics.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Paper Cuts
It's the death of the thousand paper cuts, I swear.
Worked 14 hours this weekend (Okay, that one isn't a paper cut; it's a gaping wound). Developing at least eight canker sores and/or blood blisters on the inside of my mouth (probably from stress). Burned my tongue making dinner last night. Penny woke us up at 4:15 so we could put her back to bed after a dream woke her up. Stressy dreams between then and when I got up this morning. Spilled water all over the floor while trying to take my meds. Had to take a detour to get Alex to school this morning, as the road I usually use was completely blocked by three fire trucks, two police cars, and two ambulances that I could see before the road curved. Left both kids at their respective schools in tears this morning. Changed the radio station to get away from a song I don't like, changed it again to get away from political ads, and the third station was playing the exact same stupid song I don't like from the first station. The enormous spider outside my office is still there.
Should concentrate on positives, or I'm never going to get through the day...
KT finished the entire 3-day, 60-mile Susan G. Kommen walk for breast cancer this weekend. I talked to her on the phone a bit Saturday night, and she sounded tired, but otherwise really surprisingly chipper. Keeping an eye open for her tweets as she progressed was surprisingly motivational for me. I can't even begin to express how proud I am of her. Or how disappointed I am that she didn't get the postcard I sent for her. (Positive! Positive! Right, right...)
Both kids were really just fantastic this weekend. Alex's encroaching Twoness even backed off a bit, and he was perfectly happy to play near me without having to be picked up every thirty seconds. And Matt was wonderful about trying to keep them out of my hair and taking on extra household crap so I could get my stupid work done.
We went out to eat Saturday night and had the most amazing waitress ever. The kitchen screwed up our side orders, but she was awesome. Even though the kitchen screwed up our orders, I want to go back, just so I can ask to be in her section. Also, we managed to drive a cranky old couple not just out of our section, but out of the restaurant entirely. If the kids were being loud or obnoxious, I'd have felt embarrassed, but they were actually being really good, so it was just amusing. (Seriously. I can totally sympathize with not wanting to be near kids, but in that case, may I recommend not going to a chain "family-style" restaurant before 6pm? Really. Use a brain cell, folks.)
The fall weather continues apace. In honor of the cool weather, I've planned soup for dinner twice this week. And I'm having my leftover roasted carrot and parsnip soup that I made Friday for lunch today. I love soup.
I have an apple-scented tea candle burning on the side of my desk at work. It is pretty and soothing. I have enough little tea candle refills stocked up at work in various yummy fall scents to last me until Thanksgiving.
Even though I'm not having time to write, I keep getting ideas about how to improve the story I'm currently focusing on, and I'm jotting them down so I don't lose them. Eventually, I'll have time to write again.
The proposal I'm working on at work is due next Monday. I'll likely get called in to work next weekend on assembly, but after that, I'll be free. And I'll have a buttload of extra hours. I'm going to take at least a couple of half-days off from work and do things that are not related to work even a little bit. Or possibly even computer-related. Some more clothes shopping, perhaps (I still only have like 3 long-sleeve shirts that fit). Take my camera into Colonial Williamsburg and go shutterbug crazy. Something.
There, that's a little better. Now: time for a meeting.
Worked 14 hours this weekend (Okay, that one isn't a paper cut; it's a gaping wound). Developing at least eight canker sores and/or blood blisters on the inside of my mouth (probably from stress). Burned my tongue making dinner last night. Penny woke us up at 4:15 so we could put her back to bed after a dream woke her up. Stressy dreams between then and when I got up this morning. Spilled water all over the floor while trying to take my meds. Had to take a detour to get Alex to school this morning, as the road I usually use was completely blocked by three fire trucks, two police cars, and two ambulances that I could see before the road curved. Left both kids at their respective schools in tears this morning. Changed the radio station to get away from a song I don't like, changed it again to get away from political ads, and the third station was playing the exact same stupid song I don't like from the first station. The enormous spider outside my office is still there.
Should concentrate on positives, or I'm never going to get through the day...
KT finished the entire 3-day, 60-mile Susan G. Kommen walk for breast cancer this weekend. I talked to her on the phone a bit Saturday night, and she sounded tired, but otherwise really surprisingly chipper. Keeping an eye open for her tweets as she progressed was surprisingly motivational for me. I can't even begin to express how proud I am of her. Or how disappointed I am that she didn't get the postcard I sent for her. (Positive! Positive! Right, right...)
Both kids were really just fantastic this weekend. Alex's encroaching Twoness even backed off a bit, and he was perfectly happy to play near me without having to be picked up every thirty seconds. And Matt was wonderful about trying to keep them out of my hair and taking on extra household crap so I could get my stupid work done.
We went out to eat Saturday night and had the most amazing waitress ever. The kitchen screwed up our side orders, but she was awesome. Even though the kitchen screwed up our orders, I want to go back, just so I can ask to be in her section. Also, we managed to drive a cranky old couple not just out of our section, but out of the restaurant entirely. If the kids were being loud or obnoxious, I'd have felt embarrassed, but they were actually being really good, so it was just amusing. (Seriously. I can totally sympathize with not wanting to be near kids, but in that case, may I recommend not going to a chain "family-style" restaurant before 6pm? Really. Use a brain cell, folks.)
The fall weather continues apace. In honor of the cool weather, I've planned soup for dinner twice this week. And I'm having my leftover roasted carrot and parsnip soup that I made Friday for lunch today. I love soup.
I have an apple-scented tea candle burning on the side of my desk at work. It is pretty and soothing. I have enough little tea candle refills stocked up at work in various yummy fall scents to last me until Thanksgiving.
Even though I'm not having time to write, I keep getting ideas about how to improve the story I'm currently focusing on, and I'm jotting them down so I don't lose them. Eventually, I'll have time to write again.
The proposal I'm working on at work is due next Monday. I'll likely get called in to work next weekend on assembly, but after that, I'll be free. And I'll have a buttload of extra hours. I'm going to take at least a couple of half-days off from work and do things that are not related to work even a little bit. Or possibly even computer-related. Some more clothes shopping, perhaps (I still only have like 3 long-sleeve shirts that fit). Take my camera into Colonial Williamsburg and go shutterbug crazy. Something.
There, that's a little better. Now: time for a meeting.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Burned and Raw
Yesterday was busy, but actually pretty good. I got lots of work accomplished and avoided feeling like I was spinning my wheels to no good purpose, and I managed to get to the gym which both got my blood moving and got me outside (if only briefly) to appreciate the fall weather.
So I was in a really great mood, right up until I got home.
Which is when I tried to make dinner. I thought I'd try some roasted carrots and parsnips, since it's fall. I've never had parsnips before, and thought it would be fun to try them. So I got home, cut them and the carrots up, and put them in the oven. I let them go for twenty minutes or so, and then started on the pork chops. I didn't want them to be anything too fancy, so I thought I'd just bread them and then pan-sear them.
Except that the breading started burning before the pork was even remotely cooked. It set off the smoke alarm, in fact. I scraped off the burnt stuff and kept going, and eventually, they were finally done.
Which is when I took the carrots and parsnips out of the oven (which had been in there for well over half an hour, by this point) and discovered that they weren't fully cooked yet.
So we had our plain, slightly-burnt and (as it turned out) over-salted pork chops with some raw carrots (and the kids had applesauce), and we had it a good 20 minutes late. Sigh.
On the plus side, I found what sounds like a lovely recipe for carrot and parsnip soup, so I'll stop at the store on my way home today to pick up an onion and some celery and make that, and I can have it for lunches or something. (And if I like it as much as I think I will, it might become a fall/winter staple for me, because it sounds wonderful.)
Note to self: Bake pork chops, not fry, if they're going to have breading on them, and save the roasted root veggies for the weekends, when I have time to get them started a full hour or so before we're going to eat.
The rest of the evening was better, though. I did a little more writing -- not the impressive chunk that I managed Wednesday, but a fairly solid amount for me lately, plus made notes for future improvements, so that felt good. (Also, I threw some twitter silliness back and forth with Braz and Vicki, which is always fun.)
So, all in all, a pretty good day, craptastic dinner aside. (And yet, I chose to whine at you about the dinner. It wouldn't do for anyone to think I was feeling happy, after all...)
Today, Penny has a half-day at school, so I'll be packing up just a smidge after 12 so I can pick her up. And then we'll head home and I'll set up my laptop and work from home for the afternoon. I might have to work a little this weekend, but we'll see. Most of my stuff for the proposal is done, and what I'm down to now is reading other people's stuff and suggesting edits.
So I was in a really great mood, right up until I got home.
Which is when I tried to make dinner. I thought I'd try some roasted carrots and parsnips, since it's fall. I've never had parsnips before, and thought it would be fun to try them. So I got home, cut them and the carrots up, and put them in the oven. I let them go for twenty minutes or so, and then started on the pork chops. I didn't want them to be anything too fancy, so I thought I'd just bread them and then pan-sear them.
Except that the breading started burning before the pork was even remotely cooked. It set off the smoke alarm, in fact. I scraped off the burnt stuff and kept going, and eventually, they were finally done.
Which is when I took the carrots and parsnips out of the oven (which had been in there for well over half an hour, by this point) and discovered that they weren't fully cooked yet.
So we had our plain, slightly-burnt and (as it turned out) over-salted pork chops with some raw carrots (and the kids had applesauce), and we had it a good 20 minutes late. Sigh.
On the plus side, I found what sounds like a lovely recipe for carrot and parsnip soup, so I'll stop at the store on my way home today to pick up an onion and some celery and make that, and I can have it for lunches or something. (And if I like it as much as I think I will, it might become a fall/winter staple for me, because it sounds wonderful.)
Note to self: Bake pork chops, not fry, if they're going to have breading on them, and save the roasted root veggies for the weekends, when I have time to get them started a full hour or so before we're going to eat.
The rest of the evening was better, though. I did a little more writing -- not the impressive chunk that I managed Wednesday, but a fairly solid amount for me lately, plus made notes for future improvements, so that felt good. (Also, I threw some twitter silliness back and forth with Braz and Vicki, which is always fun.)
So, all in all, a pretty good day, craptastic dinner aside. (And yet, I chose to whine at you about the dinner. It wouldn't do for anyone to think I was feeling happy, after all...)
Today, Penny has a half-day at school, so I'll be packing up just a smidge after 12 so I can pick her up. And then we'll head home and I'll set up my laptop and work from home for the afternoon. I might have to work a little this weekend, but we'll see. Most of my stuff for the proposal is done, and what I'm down to now is reading other people's stuff and suggesting edits.
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