Not MIA, just IA...

Maybe that post title isn't very self-explanatory, so here you go...

Not Missing in Action, just in Action...

Meaning that things have just been topsy-turvy around here.  Lots has been going on - let me enlighten you.

WORK-RELATED:
My company has been laying people off for the past year or so, and while I've never really been nervous about my job, now I am.  And not so much about getting laid off, but more about not being able to do my new job...

I've always been a part of a department that sort of flew under the radar for the most part.  We brought in $20 million so I'm sure if we DIDN'T bring it in, we'd have been noticed, but for the most part, since we consistently made our numbers we sort of never drew attention to ourselves.  The irony is we were always ticked off that we were being treated as the "red-headed step-children," as my colleague would say. 

NOW, however, my job description has changed and I've been told I have to toot my own horn and the horn of my new department, that NOW we WANT attention brought to our division and I have to contribute to that.

My job has changed.  I'm now going to be specializing a particular subject category, focusing not on all the accounts in my geographical territory, but on a handful (25 or 30) key accounts that are supposed to be the focus of my attention and the attention of the company.  I have to grow their business, proactively expand our volume of sales with these customers, and make sure everyone knows what I'm doing, how I'm doing it and how successful I'm being.

HEALTH-RELATED:
I think I've mentioned the chronic bursitis in my hips.  I also have two knees (!), both with a torn meniscus and arthritis.  I have seen my GP, an orthopedist, an acupuncturist, a rheumatoid arthritis specialist, and most recently an orthopedic surgeon, the one who did hubby's shoulder surgery.

Regarding my hips - they hurt.  They hurt all the time.  I really don't want to be taking anti-inflammatories every day, and I really don't want to start with cortisone shots at age 52 (who knows how much shot-related deterioration I'll have in the next 30 years...).  But I'm not sure what else to do.  I've gone for therapy, taken yoga, done some stretching at the gym, and nothing has relieved the pain.  I seriously walk about 20 feet or so before I'm walking relatively normally, after I've been seated for a while and my hips have stiffened up.  I just called a radio doctor this weekend and he's recommended some alternative treatment.  I'm in enough pain to follow up on his website...

Regarding my knees - the surgeon said he'd recommend surgery on my left knee.  It's funny, I first had trouble with my right knee last December.  I'd gone shopping for the day and my knee hurt so much that I really thought, at the time, that I would have to call J to come and get me, that I wouldn't be able to drive home.  So I started seeing doctors about my right knee.  NOW it's my left one that's worse, and while the pain isn't as severe as the one day in December, it's constant.  I feel stiffness and pain, like a tight muscle or tendon, on the back of my knee, and it's constant.  Again, when I'm sitting, it takes me a long time to get up and walk.

So I made an appointment with another orthopedic surgeon, the one who just operated on our friend K.  K has had 20 years worth of trouble with his knees, and he was up and around within a week, actually up and around the next day, but functioning almost normally within a week, with painkillers only one day, and Advil for a few days.  I go on November 6.

FAMILY-RELATED:
Just worrying about a sister who's not as happy as she should be...  and hoping all my family stays healthy and safe...

We're waiting for a new great-nephew to be born.  October 18th was his due date, but apparently he's real comfy and in no hurry to be born, so if he doesn't decide to make an appearance on his own, R has to be in the hospital at 1:30am Friday morning and they'll induce.  I'm leaving for New Orleans Saturday morning so that's not great timing as far as I'm concerned.  On my last business trip I missed a family funeral.  It looks like I'm going to miss a baby this time around...

And my holiday resolution, which has to start being implemented NOW -- I HAVE to clean this house.  Thank goodness I have a lot of days off left to take this year so I'll do it and get the house ready for the holidays.  There won't be too much of that staying home and watching TV and eating bon-bons I'm so used to...

And just for fun, here are a few photos I've taken that you might enjoy...

This is Dobby who was originally named Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) except that when my daughter called her, the dog would sit instead of come, thinking she was saying "Sit."

Took this photo at the lake this past weekend, with nothing but my iPhone.  Even I'm impressed with this picture...

This is the rocking horse hubby made for the nephew-to-be.  He made a cradle for our great niece and planned to make another but the kids freaked out and said the cradle was an heirloom and they were going to pass it along to each other as needed.  So J decided to make a rocking horse this time, even before we knew they were having a boy.

This is my new kitchen at the lake house - I don't have a photo (yet) of the backsplash up and grouted, but here's a shot of the new cabinets and counters and appliances, even though the counters are messy with tools and grout...

And another iPhone photo I love, the view from my office window, unfiltered.

We were at Sam's Club a few weekends ago, and we were walking to our car when we saw this, 2 dogs in the back of the SUV, no owner, no one in the car (and I checked)...  They were just hanging there, waiting for their people...