I've been a work-at-home mom since the day my self-proclaimed maternity leave ended, around the time Gabriel was 3 months old or so. I really began working for myself in earnest in June of that year, when he was about 6 months old. It's been a year and a half of solid work-at-home-mamaness.
I have done a lot of things wrong and a lot of things bootlegged, but I finally feel like I am actually getting a handle on this home-all-day-with-him situation. And what it really boils down to, for me, as a single mom who must work, who has a toddler, who has no regular childcare, is awareness. Well, awareness and priorities.
The single most effective thing I have found for working at home with my toddler (thus far) is to divide my tasks into "awake tasks" and "asleep tasks." And when I talk about "work" or "tasks," I am talking about everything that must be done. Editing jobs. Dishes. Writing. Packing and shipping for the family business. Laundry-folding. Showering. Even TV-watching. Anything that is done at home and is not "reading a book for pleasure" (as if that ever happens) or "doing whatever Gabriel wants to do" is considered work.
I have learned, the hard way, what kinds of work I can do when he's awake and what I can only do when he's asleep. These days, I get a two-hour nap and a post-bedtime block of time and that's about it, so I've really got to make the most of the time that he's asleep -- it's too limited to waste on things I can do at other times.
Examples of sleep work include most of the writing and editing jobs that I have, especially those that pay by the hour rather than the project. Jobs that don't pay by the hour are easier to fit into the 5- and 10-minute chunks of time I sometimes get throughout the day, but it's nearly impossible to keep track of my time while doing that, which is why I'm such a fan of project-based fees rather than hourly fees. Other sleep work? Folding and putting away the laundry. I have a helper who likes to remind me that laundry needs to be shaken and tossed on the floor, especially if it is stacked too neatly.
The difficult thing for me has been resigning myself to not doing the awake work that need to be done, if he's already gone to bed. That 9pm-1am (or whenever I get too tired to do quality work) stretch is my best shot at real productivity in any given day, and I just can't justify sacrificing it to unloading the dishwasher and wiping down the bathroom mirror, no matter how much I want that other stuff to get done.
Some days -- lots of days -- there's just too much to get done. There's almost never time left over to do the things that are really gratifying but not "necessary" -- like knitting, and blogging, and having my friends over as frequently as I'd like. But having this basic guideline has helped me feel like I am at least making good choices about the things I manage to do when given the opportunity.
What's one of your best productivity tips?
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
11.18.2013
insoles and beyond giveaway
Insolesandbeyond.com is sponsoring a great giveaway over at Messy Wife, Blessed Life.
Mandi, who writes the Messy Wife blog, is one of my favorite voices on the internet and I for one am super stoked to partner with her on this venture.
The prizes are pretty substantial and there are two winners. One winner gets a $50 store credit, and the other gets $25. Head on over to the giveaway page to enter, and you can keep entering every day for more chances to win!
If you are so inclined, I'd also love it if you liked our Facebook page (despite my feelings toward Facebook) and if you followed us on Twitter. (No hard feelings toward Twitter yet, but there's still plenty of time.) We're also taking signups on the homepage for our Insoles and Beyond Newsletter, which yours truly will be speerheading so I wouldn't be sad if you signed up for that, too.
I've been wearing insoles since I was about 16, and I really believe in the product. If you have any questions about what we sell, please feel free to ask me!
Mandi, who writes the Messy Wife blog, is one of my favorite voices on the internet and I for one am super stoked to partner with her on this venture.
The prizes are pretty substantial and there are two winners. One winner gets a $50 store credit, and the other gets $25. Head on over to the giveaway page to enter, and you can keep entering every day for more chances to win!
If you are so inclined, I'd also love it if you liked our Facebook page (despite my feelings toward Facebook) and if you followed us on Twitter. (No hard feelings toward Twitter yet, but there's still plenty of time.) We're also taking signups on the homepage for our Insoles and Beyond Newsletter, which yours truly will be speerheading so I wouldn't be sad if you signed up for that, too.
I've been wearing insoles since I was about 16, and I really believe in the product. If you have any questions about what we sell, please feel free to ask me!
9.25.2013
insoles and beyond
One of the things I've been up to behind the scenes is my family's new venture, an online retailer of shoe insoles. It's called Insoles and Beyond, and I'd love it if you took a look.
I have been wearing arch support insoles and supportive footwear in various forms since I was maybe 16. My feet tend to hurt a lot, and I can really tell a difference when I have arch supports vs. when I don't. When my feet are hurting, pretty much the only shoes I want to wear are my Birkenstock sandals and clogs -- they are a wardrobe staple for me, and have been for years. Only maybe a year ago did I realize that I can buy replacement insoles to go into sneakers, dress shoes, etc. Birkenstock even sells some (and we carry them)!
If you have pain in your feet, you're uncomfortable or feel jammed up, or your ankle is really unstable, you could probably benefit from arch supports, too. You can visit our site to learn more, or ask me questions here if you'd like.
/end spammy self promotion
I have been wearing arch support insoles and supportive footwear in various forms since I was maybe 16. My feet tend to hurt a lot, and I can really tell a difference when I have arch supports vs. when I don't. When my feet are hurting, pretty much the only shoes I want to wear are my Birkenstock sandals and clogs -- they are a wardrobe staple for me, and have been for years. Only maybe a year ago did I realize that I can buy replacement insoles to go into sneakers, dress shoes, etc. Birkenstock even sells some (and we carry them)!
If you have pain in your feet, you're uncomfortable or feel jammed up, or your ankle is really unstable, you could probably benefit from arch supports, too. You can visit our site to learn more, or ask me questions here if you'd like.
/end spammy self promotion
12.03.2010
disoriented
I'm feeling a little disoriented this Friday morning. Our Thanksgiving travel really threw me for a loop, capped off with a lavish Christmas extravaganza with my family that still leaves me a little bewildered (hello, new 15 inch MacBook Pro!). Good things, but I still haven't caught up.
I returned to work for what turned out to be a somewhat frustrating but productive three days, capped off with learning that my position is no longer needed and my last day is Dec. 23.
Yeah.
Surprised? Kinda. When I was brought on this summer, it was in an odd sort of 'temporary part time' thing to get the organization over the hump of two long-time staff people retiring this year. I worked 20 hours a week and we planned to re-evaluate my position at the end of the year when there was a better idea of what was needed. For a long time, it was expected (and assumed) that I'd be starting full time, or close to it, in January.
Then three major things changed. And the leadership has recently had to reevaluate not only my position, but the direction of the organizational staff as a whole. With some projects axed and others reorganized, there ended up not being enough work for 3 admins, which meant one admin needed to go. And because I was decidedly low man on the totem pole, and I was in sort of a nebulous job anyway, I got the cut.
I've been thinking about how to posit this on my resume. I wasn't fired. I might have been laid off, depending on how you define lay-offs (how do you define lay-offs, anyway?). But since the entire position and expected outcome were undefined from the get-go, I've decided to call it a long-term temp position that failed to materialize into a permanent placement.
Sounds good, right?
To be honest, I've been stuck in a 'where do we go from here' loop since 2:30 yesterday afternoon.
My paycheck helped us get ahead, financially. We'll have to tighten our belts and slow down our student loan payments, but as long as we're careful (and nothing goes horribly wrong) we'll still be able to meet our savings goals and continue to pay off our debt with Brian's salary alone. So money isn't exactly a worry - a frustration, maybe, but not a worry.
There are whispers of a new job at the national level of the nonprofit I left when we moved to Colorado. I will pursue it (and have already done some leg work), but I know I'm going to have some pretty stiff competition so I can't, or won't, count on it. If that job pans out, I'll likely have the month of January 'off' and will start working again in February.
In the meantime, I need to revamp my professional site. I will either move it to Wordpress or I will re-do it in the web design software that came with my new laptop. I'll have to get a feel for that to see if it has what I want (or need) for SEO. I'll start advertising and seeking clients, and developing a niche market for myself a la Ramit Sethi (who is brilliant, by the way).
All in all, I'm ok with how this has turned out. I've added some cool stuff to my work experience, which will serve me in personal and professional endeavors in the future. I've also been wondering lately what exactly I would be doing at my job, because it's seemed like there wasn't a whole lot for me, so wrapping it up was kind of a surprise but not really. I'm really happy to be back at home primarily, and I feel much more equipped to make something of myself as a freelancer than I was a year ago.
Today, Friday, is my usual day off. I plan to finish decorating, do some more unpacking and organizing (because we still aren't really settled here, three months in) and find some blue string lights for our tree, which is going to have a new 'theme' this year. That's the plan, at least. Later today there's a luncheon for the sewing ministry at the church (we make baby baptism quilts) so I've got some baking to do for that.
And then, I'm going to come home and take care of my house, and my dogs, and my husband. Because that's what I like to do best.
11.12.2010
workisms
In my line of work, I end up talking to a lot of people. And I talk to people who talk to a lot of people, too. I have a modest collection of funny stories and odd 'workisms' that I've been privileged to hear.*
Today, I'm going to share a recent one with you.
I am one of three admins where I work, and I share 'technology' responsibilities with another person. I am generally, though not always, the most tech-savvy of our staff of 7.
So when a coworker got off the phone after having what was apparently a very confused conversation with someone, naturally I dropped in. She, my coworker, was trying to get him, the guy on the other end of the phone, to bring her an electronic copy of a document or presentation or something when they were meeting the following week. (This, and not emailing the file to her, made sense in the context.)
He wasn't sure what she meant.
She explained that she needed him to bring the files with him, not just a paper copy but the files, stored on something, so that they could be loaded into the system at the site.
That's when he asked if she meant he should bring the documents on his flash pod.
We decided that we thought he was talking about a thumb drive. And I thought that calling it a 'flash pod' was endlessly amusing.
Which is why I no longer carry a thumb drive. I carry a flash pod.
What's your best workism?
*Remind me to tell you about the erotic Norwegian love poetry sometime.
Today, I'm going to share a recent one with you.
I am one of three admins where I work, and I share 'technology' responsibilities with another person. I am generally, though not always, the most tech-savvy of our staff of 7.
So when a coworker got off the phone after having what was apparently a very confused conversation with someone, naturally I dropped in. She, my coworker, was trying to get him, the guy on the other end of the phone, to bring her an electronic copy of a document or presentation or something when they were meeting the following week. (This, and not emailing the file to her, made sense in the context.)
He wasn't sure what she meant.
She explained that she needed him to bring the files with him, not just a paper copy but the files, stored on something, so that they could be loaded into the system at the site.
That's when he asked if she meant he should bring the documents on his flash pod.
We decided that we thought he was talking about a thumb drive. And I thought that calling it a 'flash pod' was endlessly amusing.
Which is why I no longer carry a thumb drive. I carry a flash pod.
What's your best workism?
*Remind me to tell you about the erotic Norwegian love poetry sometime.
2.17.2010
Finding your purpose
Rick Warren, author of the whole Purpose-Driven series of books/journals/CDs/DVDs/
Finding your purpose, waking up with a sense of purpose, getting all your stuff done with a sense of purpose, living with purpose, strikes a chord for many of us. A lot of us haven't found our purpose - or A purpose, yet, and we look at those around us who are living their lives with meaning or intention and wonder how we can get that.
I don't speak from experience, of course, as my life is veritably riddled with purpose (NOT TRUE), but I know many of you out there might be wandering. Maybe you went to nursing school with the idea that you wanted to help people, but you haven't figured out what kind of help you can best give. Maybe you're like me - you're good at a lot of stuff and there are many things that capture your interest and even hold it for a while, but really you're just floating around waiting for something interesting to happen.
A while ago I came across an article at Lifehacker that got my attention. The title of the post is Discover Your Life's Purpose in Around 20 Minutes - Or Not. It got MY attention, anyway. Essentially the premiss is, ask yourself what your life purpose is, and keep answering it (on paper) until you elicit an emotional response (you cry). Could be a cool little experiment.
Now, I really thought about this challenge a lot. I though and pondered and wondered, but I never took a good chunk of time to sit down and come up with response after response until I really got to the heart of it. But I did do a lot of reflecting. What were some of the things I did as work - not as fun - that brought me the most joy, the most satisfaction? And time after time, I came up with answers like 'reading Tamara's thesis' or 'editing/designing/formatting the newsletter' or 'writing that interview story about the girl who started the campus fashion magazine.' I used to think this meant I should work for a newspaper, or even a magazine, as a copyeditor. But some of my most unhappy times were in newsrooms and computer labs. This got me to thinking about becoming a freelance editor. Maybe, just maybe, that's my life's purpose. From a professional standpoint, at least.
Usually when you discover your life's purpose, you jump in because you can't wait to get started, right? Well, not in my case. I sat on the idea for months. And then I found out I was moving halfway across the country, so my husband could begin work. That's when I decided that maybe, just maybe, I could do this freelancing thing. And then I got bogged down in the details. It wasn't until I spent an hour talking to a life coach that I got really motivated. She encouraged me to jump in, get started, and work it all out as I go. I didn't need a map or blueprint or outline just to get started. She encouraged me to build a website quick, promote it quick, and go from there.
So, I've taken some proactive steps. I built a professional editing website. I've got a stack of library books on the ins and outs of a web-based business, how to start them in Colorado, &c. And this has been fulfilling so far, but I'm at the very beginning, and it isn't quite 'doing it' for me yet. There's still a long list of things I need to do to get this idea really off the ground. For now, each small step makes a difference and is satisfying. But is editing my true purpose? I don't know yet. It really might be. I'm willing to give it a shot.
Finding your purpose, waking up with a sense of purpose, getting all your stuff done with a sense of purpose, living with purpose, strikes a chord for many of us. A lot of us haven't found our purpose - or A purpose, yet, and we look at those around us who are living their lives with meaning or intention and wonder how we can get that.
I don't speak from experience, of course, as my life is veritably riddled with purpose (NOT TRUE), but I know many of you out there might be wandering. Maybe you went to nursing school with the idea that you wanted to help people, but you haven't figured out what kind of help you can best give. Maybe you're like me - you're good at a lot of stuff and there are many things that capture your interest and even hold it for a while, but really you're just floating around waiting for something interesting to happen.
A while ago I came across an article at Lifehacker that got my attention. The title of the post is Discover Your Life's Purpose in Around 20 Minutes - Or Not. It got MY attention, anyway. Essentially the premiss is, ask yourself what your life purpose is, and keep answering it (on paper) until you elicit an emotional response (you cry). Could be a cool little experiment.
Now, I really thought about this challenge a lot. I though and pondered and wondered, but I never took a good chunk of time to sit down and come up with response after response until I really got to the heart of it. But I did do a lot of reflecting. What were some of the things I did as work - not as fun - that brought me the most joy, the most satisfaction? And time after time, I came up with answers like 'reading Tamara's thesis' or 'editing/designing/formatting the newsletter' or 'writing that interview story about the girl who started the campus fashion magazine.' I used to think this meant I should work for a newspaper, or even a magazine, as a copyeditor. But some of my most unhappy times were in newsrooms and computer labs. This got me to thinking about becoming a freelance editor. Maybe, just maybe, that's my life's purpose. From a professional standpoint, at least.
Usually when you discover your life's purpose, you jump in because you can't wait to get started, right? Well, not in my case. I sat on the idea for months. And then I found out I was moving halfway across the country, so my husband could begin work. That's when I decided that maybe, just maybe, I could do this freelancing thing. And then I got bogged down in the details. It wasn't until I spent an hour talking to a life coach that I got really motivated. She encouraged me to jump in, get started, and work it all out as I go. I didn't need a map or blueprint or outline just to get started. She encouraged me to build a website quick, promote it quick, and go from there.
So, I've taken some proactive steps. I built a professional editing website. I've got a stack of library books on the ins and outs of a web-based business, how to start them in Colorado, &c. And this has been fulfilling so far, but I'm at the very beginning, and it isn't quite 'doing it' for me yet. There's still a long list of things I need to do to get this idea really off the ground. For now, each small step makes a difference and is satisfying. But is editing my true purpose? I don't know yet. It really might be. I'm willing to give it a shot.
1.29.2010
Company Girl Coffee 1.29.10
Good morning! It's Friday and I got to sleep in until 6:30 this morning with only 3 interruptions between 5am and then! In my book, that's pretty sweet. I've got some Yogi Tea to sip on (free sample from like 6 months ago) and some bread I baked yesterday. How's your morning?
For no apparent reason, I am in a really good mood. The dogs were quiet for almost 7 hours, which is awesome, and yesterday I woke up feeling like I'd recently been hit by a deer. But I got some good knitting (one of the socks has a heel!) and reading done, and I saw the newest episode of Project Runway, and all in all it was pretty low key and recovery-oriented. I am still feeling really sleep-deprived from last weekend, and there's no respite in sight, but I'm beginning to understand just how important it is for me to get to bed at a decent hour to compensate. The early mornings were kind of a bust this week, and that's fine. Maybe next week. On today's docket is getting heels on both socks, updating some of my sidebar stuff right here on the ol' blog, and venturing out to put up some fliers... because...
...in great big giant potentially life-changing but definitely life-enhancing news...
My website is live! And it features a cute birdie I made! And, you know, all my business stuff.
Which means... I'm open for business! And I am stoked. Client-less so far, but stoked.
(In case you're new here, I'll add that my business is editing.) (And there's something on there for bloggers who want to build their street cred.)
The direct link is www.ashleydaoust.com and I would LOVE it if you would visit and let me know what you think. I still tweak it a little bit most days. And right now there are two unadvertised offers for those of you who might be interested in my services:
1. Mention that you found my site via my personal blog (aka right here) and I'll cut you a deal.
2. Tell me why you hate dook (that's Duke University for those of you who don't follow college sports) and I'll cut you an even bigger deal. (GO HEELS!)
Self-aggrandizement over. On to this week's Small Things! Don't you just love the names Rachel comes up with? Playing with matches, ha! When I read that post's title I had an instant flashback to my childhood, at a time when my brother and I played with matches - the bad kind - and I ended up accidentally lighting the edges of my (very long) hair on fire. Ooops. My teenage candle obsession diminished a little after that.
(Yes, we were teenagers at the time. Old enough to know better, for sure.)
And...guess what! Maybe this is why I'm so pumped today...I did EVERY small thing mission this month! I felt a little lost and misdirected after the holidays (who am I kidding - I've felt that way for like 3 years) and I clung to the Small Things with an iron grip as a way to find some kind of focus and keep moving. It's been really fun. One of my first thoughts upon waking consciousness is usually I wonder what today's small thing is. Yes. My life is THAT exciting.
One more thing. So you know how there's this giant ice storm moving across the country? It is going to be sitting on top of Nashville, which is fine except Brian is supposed to fly out of Nashville at like 5:30 tomorrow morning, and I would like him to be able to make that flight. The storm will be hours gone by 5:30am, but I don't know how adept that airport is at recovering overnight from an evening snow/ice storm. And then the storm moves to NC where it's expected to hang out all day Saturday, where my mom and her husband are supposed to hop on a plane to Denver (that's where I live) and...well...we Southerners don't always know how to react to snow. And I don't know that they'll be able to make it out, either. So really, my weekend plans are all up in the air (or not) and I would like everything to work out with too many tears shed.
So I think I asked you this before, but I'll ask again: how was your week, and what are you up to this weekend?
11.17.2009
oops
So you mean the 'hiatus' post I wrote never went live?
Ooops... sorry guys :)
WELL. Let's recap the past few weeks:
My husband finished his seminary education back in August. A couple of weeks later, he was offered a job in Denver, Colorado.
I spent much of September and most of October trying not to hyperventilate, on account of the moving across country at precisely the exact same time that my responsibilities at work were kicked into high gear. All the work events and whatnot went really well and I did not, as anticipated, stroke out at any point.
On November 1, Brian was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I fondly remember this day as the day he proved a few less-than-stellar personalities in the seminary realm WRONG, COMPLETELY WRONG YOU JOKERS WHO SAID HE WOULDN'T MAKE IT, AN ACCUSATION BASED PRIMARILY ON THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T KISS YOUR BEHIND AND CRADLE IT IN FLUFFY DOWN PILLOWS AND HANDSPUN SILK IMPORTED FROM ...WHEREVER SILK IS MADE. jerks. [end rant]
Packers came on Thursday, Nov. 5, and loaded all our crap personal belongings into boxes. Movers came on Friday the 6th, which was coincidentally my last day of work (I KNOW. Take a freaking break, Ashley.). And while the preceding couple of weeks had been very bitter-sweet (or bitter-exciting as I liked to say) Friday was mostly comprised of Bitter. I worked until closing time, got one last meal in what had become my beloved hometown with Brian and Kyle (aka my best-guy-friend), and set to work cleaning the house. Which had become very dirty as I had not really done any cleaning in it in the previous 2 or 3 months. On account of all the other stuff going on, and a mild bout of some kind of gastrointestinal awfulness.
Related aside/shout out: my super-awesome boss friend and her teenage daughter came to help out. They were life-savers. Brian also roused some troops to come help clear out the millions of boxes from the attic - something that would have taken us hours. (Boxes, you ask? Well...knowing we would probably be moving in the year after Brian finished school, we saved every box that came across our threshold in the 2 years we'd been married. We had many boxes. Many. Boxes. And then that blessed institution, the church that hired Brian, sprang for packers and movers, so we didn't need any of them.)
Our greatest fear was confirmed that day, as well. Our air mattress is no longer with us. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out where it could have gone, and the last thing I can remember is taking it to Delaware for my brother's wedding. I'm hoping it's floating around my mom's house somewhere, although she assures me it is not. So we spent the night at my boss friend's house. And it was exactly what I needed. Too busy and too many people for me to get caught up in emotional hoo-hah and bawl everywhere, but relaxed and hospitable enough that I could sit back and be emotional anyway. Without the blubbering.
Saturday morning, we got into our overstuffed car and left. It didn't take Eli too long to borrow himself a tunnel nearly to the back of the car. That dog has an awful lot of funny packed in his under-8-lbs frame.
I think we were about half an hour on the road when we realized that we'd left everything in the fridge and freezer. And even if we wanted to turn around, it would do us no good as we were effectively locked out of the house. I am STILL kicking myself about the 3/4 bottle of wine from our friend Melissa that I planned on enjoying in my first week(s) as a housewife. It's from Duplin County!! Extreme sadness. I hope my landlord enjoys it.
So that's it. We made it. We're here, all our crap personal belongings are here, and everyone seems to be settling into his/her/its place.
Actually, if I'm completely honest, in the battle between Ashley and The Boxes, I think The Boxes are winning. Updates as warranted. Unless I get stuck in a corner. (Again.)
Ooops... sorry guys :)
WELL. Let's recap the past few weeks:
My husband finished his seminary education back in August. A couple of weeks later, he was offered a job in Denver, Colorado.
I spent much of September and most of October trying not to hyperventilate, on account of the moving across country at precisely the exact same time that my responsibilities at work were kicked into high gear. All the work events and whatnot went really well and I did not, as anticipated, stroke out at any point.
On November 1, Brian was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I fondly remember this day as the day he proved a few less-than-stellar personalities in the seminary realm WRONG, COMPLETELY WRONG YOU JOKERS WHO SAID HE WOULDN'T MAKE IT, AN ACCUSATION BASED PRIMARILY ON THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T KISS YOUR BEHIND AND CRADLE IT IN FLUFFY DOWN PILLOWS AND HANDSPUN SILK IMPORTED FROM ...WHEREVER SILK IS MADE. jerks. [end rant]
Packers came on Thursday, Nov. 5, and loaded all our crap personal belongings into boxes. Movers came on Friday the 6th, which was coincidentally my last day of work (I KNOW. Take a freaking break, Ashley.). And while the preceding couple of weeks had been very bitter-sweet (or bitter-exciting as I liked to say) Friday was mostly comprised of Bitter. I worked until closing time, got one last meal in what had become my beloved hometown with Brian and Kyle (aka my best-guy-friend), and set to work cleaning the house. Which had become very dirty as I had not really done any cleaning in it in the previous 2 or 3 months. On account of all the other stuff going on, and a mild bout of some kind of gastrointestinal awfulness.
Related aside/shout out: my super-awesome boss friend and her teenage daughter came to help out. They were life-savers. Brian also roused some troops to come help clear out the millions of boxes from the attic - something that would have taken us hours. (Boxes, you ask? Well...knowing we would probably be moving in the year after Brian finished school, we saved every box that came across our threshold in the 2 years we'd been married. We had many boxes. Many. Boxes. And then that blessed institution, the church that hired Brian, sprang for packers and movers, so we didn't need any of them.)
Our greatest fear was confirmed that day, as well. Our air mattress is no longer with us. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out where it could have gone, and the last thing I can remember is taking it to Delaware for my brother's wedding. I'm hoping it's floating around my mom's house somewhere, although she assures me it is not. So we spent the night at my boss friend's house. And it was exactly what I needed. Too busy and too many people for me to get caught up in emotional hoo-hah and bawl everywhere, but relaxed and hospitable enough that I could sit back and be emotional anyway. Without the blubbering.
Saturday morning, we got into our overstuffed car and left. It didn't take Eli too long to borrow himself a tunnel nearly to the back of the car. That dog has an awful lot of funny packed in his under-8-lbs frame.
I think we were about half an hour on the road when we realized that we'd left everything in the fridge and freezer. And even if we wanted to turn around, it would do us no good as we were effectively locked out of the house. I am STILL kicking myself about the 3/4 bottle of wine from our friend Melissa that I planned on enjoying in my first week(s) as a housewife. It's from Duplin County!! Extreme sadness. I hope my landlord enjoys it.
So that's it. We made it. We're here, all our crap personal belongings are here, and everyone seems to be settling into his/her/its place.
Actually, if I'm completely honest, in the battle between Ashley and The Boxes, I think The Boxes are winning. Updates as warranted. Unless I get stuck in a corner. (Again.)
11.02.2009
Weekend recap and Monday-Monday
Big things are happening at home. This past weekend, Brian was ordained. It's official - he is a Minister of Word and Sacrament, and more concern-worthy, I am a Minister's Wife. I should probably take a moment to go through all my archives and remove every instance of the word 'hell' (all what, three of them?) - just in case.
After a nice dinner with Julia - the last NC friend on my list to see before we left - I drove down to Concord, NC to be with Brian and his family. Brian had left for Colorado more than two weeks earlier, so it was a happy reunion. Saturday was an early Thanksgiving meal with Brian's family and some very close family friends, topped off with a round of trick-or-treaters at the door. Sunday, of course, had Brian's ordination. We got in late last night and the general mood was one of contentedness and complete exhaustion. Brian has a lot of things to do to get us ready to move, and I have made him several lists to help him - because that's what any good Minister's Wife would do. Also, my mom came up last week and made a bunch of freezer meals for us, so we don't have to think about food. Thanks, ma!
This will be my last Monday at work. I think I am mostly done being sad about leaving - or at the very least, I am more excited than sad at this point. I had a real cryfest last week and I've been focused on the mechanics of moving, ever since.
Richmond, I love you, and I am sad to be leaving you. Denver, you'd better be ready to step up.
We have begun the days-away countdown. Five days. I've thought about installing one of those little count down thingers on the blog, but who has the time to research those?
After a nice dinner with Julia - the last NC friend on my list to see before we left - I drove down to Concord, NC to be with Brian and his family. Brian had left for Colorado more than two weeks earlier, so it was a happy reunion. Saturday was an early Thanksgiving meal with Brian's family and some very close family friends, topped off with a round of trick-or-treaters at the door. Sunday, of course, had Brian's ordination. We got in late last night and the general mood was one of contentedness and complete exhaustion. Brian has a lot of things to do to get us ready to move, and I have made him several lists to help him - because that's what any good Minister's Wife would do. Also, my mom came up last week and made a bunch of freezer meals for us, so we don't have to think about food. Thanks, ma!
This will be my last Monday at work. I think I am mostly done being sad about leaving - or at the very least, I am more excited than sad at this point. I had a real cryfest last week and I've been focused on the mechanics of moving, ever since.
Richmond, I love you, and I am sad to be leaving you. Denver, you'd better be ready to step up.
We have begun the days-away countdown. Five days. I've thought about installing one of those little count down thingers on the blog, but who has the time to research those?
10.29.2009
Lou Gehrig on night baseball
The job I have right now - for the next couple of weeks, at least - sometimes inspires me to delve into information about Lou Gehrig. (It's Gehrig, not Gherig, by the way.)
Many months ago, I came across a fun interview that Lou did with a guy named Dwight Merriam, of KROC. They talked about all kinds of basebally subjects, but this one comment on night baseball games struck me as odd in a funny kind of way. There was a shift in the days of the Great Depression from baseball games being played in the daytime to being played at night, made possible by electricity and made necessary by dwindling spectatorship. Playing at night meant that folks who worked during the day could come to the evening games, and ticket sales were (as always) important. The first night baseball game was played in 1935, but it didn't really take off until after the war. The Chicaco Cubs were the lone daytime holdout for decades, and they didn't install lights at Wrigley until 1988.
While fans seemed to take to night baseball pretty quickly, a lot of the people IN baseball didn't like the change. As a self-professed analog person in a digital world, I totally 'get' an innate resistance to change brought on by technology, and some of the major arguments from 80 years ago are tinged with quaint antique notions. For example, one major worry was that players would have a hard time shifting betweein lighting conditions and that there would be more injuries during night games (per this site).
Want to know what Lou Gehrig thought? Read this excerpt from that 1939 interview, and keep in mind that Gehrig and the Yankees lost their first night game, in Philadelphia, prior to this interview. (Note: I've put my favorite comment in bold.)
Dwight Merriam, KROC: Lou, what's your opinion of night baseball?
Lou Gehrig: Well, night baseball is strictly a show and is strictly advantageous to the owners' pocketbook. But as far as being a true exhibition of baseball, well, I don't think I can say it is, and it's very difficult on the ballplayers themselves. Of course, we realize that the men who work in the daytime like to get out at night and really see a spectacle, and we do all in our power to give them their money's worth. But after all, it's not really baseball. Real baseball should be played in the daytime, in the sunshine.
I love baseball. I don't really 'follow' it, I don't know many players and I can only tell you the Phillies won the world series last year because one of my best friends is a hardcore fan. It was a long time before I'd return to a stadium or even watch a game after the big players strick in the 90s. But I sure do love going to stadiums, especially major league stadiums, and it doesn't take much for me to get caught up in the traditions of our national pastime.
Many months ago, I came across a fun interview that Lou did with a guy named Dwight Merriam, of KROC. They talked about all kinds of basebally subjects, but this one comment on night baseball games struck me as odd in a funny kind of way. There was a shift in the days of the Great Depression from baseball games being played in the daytime to being played at night, made possible by electricity and made necessary by dwindling spectatorship. Playing at night meant that folks who worked during the day could come to the evening games, and ticket sales were (as always) important. The first night baseball game was played in 1935, but it didn't really take off until after the war. The Chicaco Cubs were the lone daytime holdout for decades, and they didn't install lights at Wrigley until 1988.
While fans seemed to take to night baseball pretty quickly, a lot of the people IN baseball didn't like the change. As a self-professed analog person in a digital world, I totally 'get' an innate resistance to change brought on by technology, and some of the major arguments from 80 years ago are tinged with quaint antique notions. For example, one major worry was that players would have a hard time shifting betweein lighting conditions and that there would be more injuries during night games (per this site).
Want to know what Lou Gehrig thought? Read this excerpt from that 1939 interview, and keep in mind that Gehrig and the Yankees lost their first night game, in Philadelphia, prior to this interview. (Note: I've put my favorite comment in bold.)
Dwight Merriam, KROC: Lou, what's your opinion of night baseball?
Lou Gehrig: Well, night baseball is strictly a show and is strictly advantageous to the owners' pocketbook. But as far as being a true exhibition of baseball, well, I don't think I can say it is, and it's very difficult on the ballplayers themselves. Of course, we realize that the men who work in the daytime like to get out at night and really see a spectacle, and we do all in our power to give them their money's worth. But after all, it's not really baseball. Real baseball should be played in the daytime, in the sunshine.
I love baseball. I don't really 'follow' it, I don't know many players and I can only tell you the Phillies won the world series last year because one of my best friends is a hardcore fan. It was a long time before I'd return to a stadium or even watch a game after the big players strick in the 90s. But I sure do love going to stadiums, especially major league stadiums, and it doesn't take much for me to get caught up in the traditions of our national pastime.
10.28.2009
only for you, Bill
In my job, I deal with lots of people, including people who are not necessarily tech savvy. This can sometime cause a flurry of small problems, as one of our major fundraising events centers around heavy use of a website.
I have one one fundraising team captain who is not really interested in messing around with the website. He's from an older generation and isn't as comfortable with the ins and outs as we youngsters are. He's also not quite sure yet how much to trust the internet, and in particular, how much to trust credit card transactions over the internet. He is the nicest man, though, diligent and really dedicated to the cause.
He got in touch with me the other day, asking me if it would be ok if he could call me today and give me his credit card information to process a donation.
I said, For you Bill, I would, and gladly.
Ok I didn't actually say that, but how suave would that have been?
What's the most charming thing you've said to somebody?
I have one one fundraising team captain who is not really interested in messing around with the website. He's from an older generation and isn't as comfortable with the ins and outs as we youngsters are. He's also not quite sure yet how much to trust the internet, and in particular, how much to trust credit card transactions over the internet. He is the nicest man, though, diligent and really dedicated to the cause.
He got in touch with me the other day, asking me if it would be ok if he could call me today and give me his credit card information to process a donation.
I said, For you Bill, I would, and gladly.
Ok I didn't actually say that, but how suave would that have been?
What's the most charming thing you've said to somebody?
9.21.2009
Funday Monday
Today my workplace is hosting what has come to be known as Funday Monday. I am looking forward to the event - there are still a couple of folks I haven't met yet. There will be food, games, and general goodness running around this wooded park. And it will be the first time I will witness anything close to the whole staff coming together. What's not to love?
Besides the 2 hour commute each way, I mean.
And I, in true and typical girl fashion, can't figure out what to wear. I'm not supposed to wear jeans, according to my chiropractor, because they are too tight across the hips and will exacerbate my hip problem. But what else do I have that's appropriate to wear to a work function involving running around in a city park?
I have yet to figure this out. And I leave in an hour.
12.08.2008
Tis the season for a jolly weekend recount!
An armadillo with a santa hat. A pickle. A gold leaf. Six blue glass birds. A glittery Waterford Santa. Four gold bells and 2 silver bells. A light blue miniature disco ball. A firey Superman emblem. Six rudolph-character jingle bells. Gold stars. White snowflakes. A toaster. The Star Ship Enterprise. Six glass-blown dogs. Lots of blue, white, silver and navy balls.
I love our Christmas tree!
We started decorating this weekend. I have been somewhat lacking in the "Christmas Spirit" this year, what with being bogged down with worries and pains and no functioning bathtub and all. So it was high time! I managed to be done with work at precisely 5pm, so I could scuttle off with Brian to our favorite lawn-and-garden-shop-turned-Christmas-tree-lot before they closed at 5:30. They're our favorites because they're close to us, they're a local family-operated business, they are SUPER friendly, and perhaps most importantly, they sell our beloved North Carolina fraser firs. We picked up a real looker and set it up to stand naked in the house until this afternoon when I would have time to decorate. Friday night ended up nice and quiet, just like we needed.
Saturday morning came and I had to go to work on some stuff. A couple of nice high school volunteers came and rocked out a Cans for Habitat project with me, which was awesome. Cans for Habitat benefits the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate here in Richmond. They collect your empty aluminum cans and recycle them to raise funds. Learn more here. After all that finished up, I had to work on a bunch of stuff at the office. After being there for a couple of hours, I got the inspiration to cut my hair, as it's been about 8 months since my last hair cut, I didn't (and still don't) have a functioning shower, and Saturday night was Calvin Ball so I wanted to have a fighting chance at looking decent in the hair department.
Calvin Ball was great. I was expecting it to be another semi-lame seminary event where I got to sit on the outskirts and feel excluded, but it was actually a lot of fun. Folks were in good, cheery, happy moods, and the DJ was more than half decent. We had a great time. And I had yet another chance to wear my bangin' cocktail dress.
Sunday was low-key. We visited a small church not to far from here - we may end up teaching the youth sunday school class. It was their Christmas Cantata, and everyone was so nice. Then we came home and the tub got caulked, which means it will be in working order tomorrow. Our friend Jessica came over to snag some books and hang out. I got Christmas down from the attic and started distributing it across the house. I didn't put up all our ornaments on the tree - I didn't feel the need to go all out this year. And is it weird that we've only been married a year but we already have a few 'clutter' ornaments - ones that we don't like or want? And what do you do with these? Any opinions?
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