LEARN 9

I've LEARNed that I will be doing the job of two people, and assisting a third.

While I'm flattered that my manager seems to think I'm capable of doing so much more work (he wants to utilize my talents and strengths), I'm not real keen about that "assisting a third" person.  It's clerical work.  And if he wants to pay me my salary to be a clerk, that's fine, but then make me a clerk.  Don't say I'm the team lead, a team specialist, that my responsibilities are expanding because of my capabilities...  Just say I'm a clerk making a boatload of money for being a clerk.

The woman whose work I'm picking up quit after working here for I know know how long, maybe 15 years?  This new job, in its current incarnation, wasn't "what [she] signed up for."  Yea, well, is it ever?  We went through a reorg, which by definition means we're all going to be doing more, for less.  We're going to have to LEARN more on our own. We've had to go through some official sales training (the only previous training I had was being a buyer, and once I became a sales person, I decided not to do what other sales people had done that annoyed me as a buyer).  We have videos we have to watch, webinars we have to participate in, training we have to do, additional data entry we're required to fit into our daily workflow...  All in the same 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Which means my 35-hour work week is now a 45-50-hour work week, with no additional compensation because I am, of course, salaried.  I don't take a lunch; I eat at my desk.  I used to do personal email and pay bills and things when I got in the office at 7:30am but now I'm right to work.  I forget to stop working when it's the end of the day and I'm almost always late going outside to catch my ride.

One of the points the training made is that you have to LEARN when your most productive times are AND when your customers' most available times are.  And they suggested that in many cases between 7am and 8am or between 4pm and 6pm are the best times to reach people at their desks.

I see long hours ahead of me - I guess I AM psychic...

I've taken it upon myself to order a book that ties in with the sales training they provided.  I'm going to read it and then suggest, if it's applicable, that everyone read it, or read from it, or that perhaps the author would be a great speaker at our next conference...  I'm LEARNing how to play the game...

30 Days of Lists 6

Celebrity Crushes

There is only one:  Clint Eastwood.

My SIL gets upset when I say that if Clint called, I would leave my husband for him.

I would come back for sure, but I would definitely go.

LEARN 8

This week's post is late because I have not yet LEARNed to be better with my time management...

This week's post is also about someone else's LEARNing experience...

All together now, let's welcome Mom to 2014 - she got an iPhone, thanks to Middle Sis!!!

It arrived on Wednesday, and while I'm as excited as can be for both of them and their new phones, the big LEARNing moment for me this week is (drumroll, please), I've discovered that I LEARN well and easily, but I don't TEACH others as well.

I am apparently incapable of breaking it down to the basics.

I keep forgetting that I have to teach her from step one, something as basic as how to double-click that home button.  I continually explain it as if she has basic smartphone knowledge, which she does not...  There's a good amount of basic skills that she has to LEARN and it's so innate to my use of the phone that I'm struggling to remember it's all new to her.

I'm so excited for her to be able to have access to it all - just FaceTime blew her away the other day!

I've had those conversations, the ones that flood the internet:  "Yes, nephew, Cioci had to go to the computer lab in college, put her name on a piece of paper on the door, to reserve 30 minutes on the computer."  "Yes, nephew, Cioci used a manual typewriter in high school - in fact, 1/2 the class did have electric typewriters but if you arrived on time, it was too late to get one of them and you were stuck with a manual one."  "Yes, nephew, both of your aunts remember the day we got our first word processor."  [Side comment:  Remember Crazy Eddie?  That's where Mom got it!]

I'm old enough to have been in that generation that LEARNed computers.  I didn't grow up with them.  I have a visual in my head - my 2-year-old nephew sitting on his grandfather's lap in Mr. U's office, playing with the computer, moving the mouse where Grandpa told him to, pressing the buttons as instructed...  And I remember being amazed that at 2, he was already so fluent with a computer!

I went over to Mom's again last night.  She was already being negative about having forgotten about closing out her apps so they don't run in the background.  I went over and over simple phone stuff - no internet, no games, only the briefest mention of texting (although she did text my sister to say hi!).  It's such an eye-opening experience - I find LEARNing new things on the computer fun and easy although I really never grew up with them.  I have to keep remembering that Mom LEARNing the iPhone is like me LEARNing to knit - I can do it, but it doesn't come easy.  It's just going to be a LEARN-as-you-go sort of thing for us both!

Blog Your Heart

It's that time again, time for Stephanie Howell to post her Blog Your Heart post.  Here's how it works:
1. Blog whatever is authentic. Whatever is truly on your mind and in your heart.
2. It can be serious, silly, short, long. NOTE:No one said it has to be serious. But it should be authentic.
3. No judging allowed no snarky comments, no making fun, no passive agressive digs.If you are going to read the blogs linked below [on Stephanie's blog], don't be mean. Nothing here is whining, though I she can't help it if you perceive it that way. It's me honestly sharing my feelings. if you feel that it's whining, then you don't have to read. :)
4. If you BYH, link back here to Stephanie's post. I'll She'll add an Inlinkz tool at the end of the post. I She always reads and comments on every single post.
5. Feel free to use the graphic above. Just make sure to link back to me her.

Thanks to Stephanie for the instructions.  And here we go..

1. My One Little Word this year is LEARN (you can look back to early January to see an explanation).  I'm happy and proud to say that while I'm not earning a doctorate, I think I AM LEARNing.  And I'm LEARNing lots.  And it's not all academic.  There is a lot of soul-searching going on, a lot of realizing, a lot of deciding, a lot of resolving...  It's not all happy - I've come to LEARN that I have a lot of flaws, many more than my innate Catholic guilt has laid on me all these years, and I've decided to practice some self-improvement.  Baby steps, yes, but improvement nonetheless.
2. I am feeling swamped. Overwhelmed. Unable to do it all. Work is HARD, y'all.  I need someone to figure out how to double the hours in a day so I can get it all done.  (I have obviously NOT yet LEARNed that you CAN'T do it all...)
3. I have 6 (ish) more PT sessions to go before I'm on my own.  Yes, I plan on continuing to go to the gym, and to walk at home, and to keep up with maintaining my knee's health, and BONUS:  the rest of me will be healthier, too!  We're going to Florida (Harry Potter World, here we come!) this summer and I have to be able to do some heavy duty walking.  We're starting the treadmill next Tuesday and unless this weather improves tremendously, I might have to become one of those old-lady-mall-walkers -- we gave our treadmill to M since we weren't using it...  Gotta keep on walkin'...
4. I have a funny feeling we're going to be snowed in tonight.  Mr./Ms. I'm-a-Weatherman-So-I-Don't-Have-to-Be-Right-All-the-Time has said we're in for somewhere between 3-4 inches and 6-10 inches of snow tonight, into tomorrow, on TOP of the 8-10 inches already on the ground.  Of course, if you're north and/or west of the city, you could be getting up to 16 inches.  16.  Inches.  Global warming, my a$$.  (Do NOT respond with a political rant.) - [UPDATE:  Yes, we were snowed in.]
5. The older I get the more impatient I get.  (This is NOT a surprise - I've been noticing this for years now.)  I find I have to bite back comments such as, "Really?" "No $hit!" and "You're kidding!" 
6. I am getting more and more frustrated with the Zoning Board - they have almost $400 of my money in an escrow account and I can't get the secretary to call me back.  Now I realize they're the ones earning interest on my measly $392 but it's MY MONEY.  Now that we've done everything we have to do to get it released, she won't return my call.  Might be time for a visit to City Hall... [UPDATE:  I called and was rather harsh and less than friendly on the message - still no response.  So I called and asked for the Zoning Officer's office.  Guess what?  She has TWO desks and they put me right through to her!  And she emailed me the form and I mailed it today and hopefully we'll get our $392 sooner rather than later!]
7. I'm so happy my sister and my mom are getting smart phones. I'm so excited to be able to share a bit more with them, a bit more easily...
8. I'm confident that some day I'll be involved in a road rage incident, and I'll be the instigator!  I am SO frustrated with the crazy drivers who apparently think it doesn't matter that there is ice and snow on the ground and that the roads are 1/3 as wide as usual - it's still only them on the road!
9. I have very strong opinions about things and as I get older, I care less and less about being discreet and find it more and more satisfying to just put myself out there.  I still don't feel the need to defend my opinions, but I certainly feel no qualms about stating them publicly when I feel strongly enough.
10. I mentioned in a previous post that I'm learning/teaching myself to knit.  Yet another example of how frustrated I get when I can't learn something immediately, 100%.  I'm struggling with knitting and purling.  It's just not feeling natural in my hands yet...  Grrrr...

30 Days of Lists 5

Vacations to Take

1. Alaska - my dream vacation
2. Paris - I HAVE to see Versailles and the Louvre
3. Australia - I've always wanted to go there
4. London - Stratford-on-Avon, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, etc.
5. Cape Cod - to see our friends (I KNOW we've promised this before, but it's HIS fault, not mine!)
6. Chicago - for something other than a work conference
7. New Orleans - ditto
8. Florida - I could go every year, to Disney World, Universal (Hello, Harry Potter!), Sea World, etc.
9. Utah
10. Colorado
11. Tennessee - Nashville, specifically, but elsewhere as well
12. Oklahoma
13. Alabama
14. North Carolina
15. Georgia - Savannah, specifically, but Atlanta as well (was there on business only - took the CNN tour and saw the Coke Museum)
16. Cross country on the motorcycle - unlikely at our age, but would love to do it.  Perhaps we can change it to "cross country by car"

30 Days of Lists 4

On My Shopping List(s)

Shop Rite:

• Milk
• Orange juice
• Hot dogs and hot dog rolls
• Ham steaks
• Shredded cheese
• Bisquick - IF the box in my pantry is too old and stale...
• Water mixes (not mango/peach)

Miscellaneous Stores:

• Curtain rods and panels for the sliding doors and windows in the lake house living room
• Dr. Scholl's Peppermint Foot Lotion (can't find it anywhere!)
• Work clothes
• Work shoes (black flats)
• Mattress pillow top
• Some kind of birthday gift for hubby (April - it takes a long time to think of something he might actually want/use)

Optical Center:

• New glasses (due in March/April)

Barnes & Noble OR amazon.com:

• Linger, Maggie Stiefvater
• Forever, Maggie Stiefvater
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan
• Eat That Frog!  Brian Tracy
• Oath of Office, Michael Palmer
• Death Benefit, Robin Cook
• Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Matthew Dicks
• The Last Letter from Your Lover, Jojo Moyes
• Crazy Salad, Nora Ephron
• Monarch Beach, Anita Hughes
• Every Day, David Levathin
• The Drop, Michael Connelly
• Art Doodle Love, Dawn DeVries Sokol

LEARN 7

This will be a very light post, more humorous than serious, but with underlying truth...

This week I LEARNed that...

1. I don't mind cooking all day Sunday to have food in the fridge for the week (this week's menu includes fried eggplant and homemade chicken soup)
2. it matters to me that I have a HUGE stack of books sitting by my side that I have accumulated, but not read
3. I can forget how to knit as quickly as I LEARNed how to knit
4. I can LEARN to loosen my stitches up a bit, almost a bit too much
5. while I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snow, I'm a bit underwhelmed at the idea of another 6-10 inches on top of the ice and snow we have out there right now
6. I enjoy planning and really wish I enjoyed the follow-through as much
7. as I get older, I like being cold less and less
8. I still love the oldies but goodies, songs from the 50s
9. I'm a visual LEARNer
10. I should be independently wealthy, or at least not have to work for a living

And those are just 10 things I LEARNed this week!  Stay tuned - we have 45 more weeks to go!!!

LEARN 6

This LEARNing post is up late this week; I've been out of the office almost all week.  Monday was a snow day and school was closed so I worked from home.  I did come into the office on Tuesday, but prepped for sales conference, which ran from Wednesday through Friday.  It's Friday afternoon and I'm waiting in the office for J to pick me up...

I didn't LEARN too much, at least not all that much that's measurable, from last week's post, but at sales conference, it was a LEARNing par-tay!

This sales conference was totally and completely sans product.  We LEARNed sales.  We LEARNed sales methodology.  We went through official sales training from outsides sales experts.  We role-played on Thursday.

I must say I expected to h-a-t-e it all, from day 1 to day 3, but it pains me to admit that not only did I have f-u-n, I LEARNed a few things!  I was afraid, along with many others, I'm sure, that it would be a free-for-all on the part of W to basically tell us how little we know about selling, how unprofessional and untrained I/we was/were.

But, in fact, administration admitted we hadn't been trained, admitted this was a serious lack on their part, and promised to continue training with other seminars and webinars, etc., throughout the rest of our career with W.

I LEARNed that I should lead with benefits, not with features. I LEARNed that other successful sales reps had as little training as I have, and yet they took it on themselves more than I did to LEARN to sell, to LEARN their customers, to LEARN the product, to LEARN to do a great job.  I am resolving to do better, do more, LEARN more...  Be more...

30 Days of Lists 3

I Am Looking Forward to...

1. LEARNing how to knit (see previous post - I JUST started!)
2. LEARNing how to cook
3. Summer vacation (we're going on a cruise and to Florida!)
4. Warmer weather - I'm a fan of winter, but this bitter single-digit-or-less cold is really getting to me
5. Catching up on all my reading - for some reason my books are piling up
6. Working on Project Life
7. Setting up a crafting table on the second floor at the lake house, in the sitting room, so my friend and I can "art" together
8. Seeing my new little nephew this afternoon - he just turned 3 months old!
9. Retiring
10. Surprising a special someone sometime soon with something special (no hints!)
11. Volunteering at the school tomorrow - I love reading to the kids!
12. Sticking to completing and using my planner this year
13. Getting a dog when my husband retires

(Unlucky 13??!!)

LEARNing 5

I LEARNed how to knit last night!  I've always wanted to know, but it always just seemed too hard.  I'm uncoordinated with one hand, let alone two.  It was too confusing when I tried it last (30+ years ago!).  My hand/wrist hurts when I crochet; imagine how it would hurt if I tried to knit...

There were lots of reasons why I thought I couldn't LEARN to knit.  But recently one of my favorite bloggers, Organized Jen, rediscovered her love of knitting.  (Coincidentally that link will take you to her first knitting post!)  And I decided to give it a try.  No one says I have to knit a cozy for the Taj Mahal, first time out...

I took Mom to ACMoore the other day and I bought two large skeins of wool, a pale taupe/sand color and a cream.  She suggested the shorter needles to start, in a size 7.  I bought both a size 7 and a size 8, and later this week I'll go back for longer needles.  I picked up a laminated How To flyer, but when she looked at it, Mom said they taught it the "wrong" way, that she'd teach me an easier way.

I went home and immediately looked up knitting on the internet and found a short video from CyberSeams.  It showed how to cast on and how to knit.  That's it.

So I tried it.  And I've knitted FOUR rows!!!  I'm going to get myself a how to knit and how to crochet book, and give it the old college try!

My sister P was so proud of me, and surprised that I could already pick out where I missed a stitch or made some other error.  She also told me that I'm knitting the American way, whereas she and Mom knit the Russian (?) way.  [Or was it the European way, P?]  Apparently Mom holds her yarn the other way, and they go in from the back to pick up a stitch, not from the front...  This is all beyond me.  When I'm comfortable and not dropping stitches left and right, THEN I'll try moving the yarn to another hand, or another finger, or something...  Right now I'm just so thrilled I LEARNed how to knit!

I'm also taking some retail sales training courses online through work.  They seem sort of basic and silly, or at least they did to start, but I always seem to pick up something from each one.  I guess they really are worth my time and the company's money, if they help me LEARN a new sales tool I can use to help sell more books or more content or more services.

30 Days of Lists 2

Okay, here's list # 2 from March 2011:

Things You Are Good At

1. OOOH, I'm GREAT at reading!
2. I'm good at scrapbooking
3. I'm great at eating
4. I'm good at my job
5. I'm good at ignoring my alarm
6. I'm good at ignoring clutter
7. I'm good at getting distracted
8. I'm good at resting and relaxing
9. I'm good at making a positive blog post turn into a sort of negative one
10. I'm a good daughter

This is a hard list and I'm going to stop here.  When I have some time (I'm NOT good at time management!), I'm going to read other I'm Good At... lists and see what other people are good at.  Feel free to leave your own list in the comments...

LEARNing 4

This is going to be a short post.

Yesterday I LEARNed that I need to be more observant.

I need to look, and see, and notice, and pay attention.

I need to LEARN from my surroundings, my environment, from the people, places and things around me.

Something so simple as a visit from a refrigerator repairman...

We remodeled the kitchen in our lake house.  We bought brand new appliances, including my dream refrigerator:  French doors and a pull out lower freezer drawer.

I already LEARNed that I have to be sure the top doors close all the way.  Just like I LEARNed that the garbage can cabinet does NOT have a drawer return on it; I have to manually push it closed.  Just like I LEARNed that although I have more cabinets than before, they fit the space, not the food and the way we use the kitchen.  I'll have to LEARN my kitchen all over again, where I put things, where they might fit...

Yesterday was the second time a repairman came out to the house.  The brand new refrigerator wasn't working the weekend before Christmas - it was 66 degrees in the refrigerator and the freezer motor was frozen over with ice.

We/I LEARNed that the refrigerator is cooled by the movement of the air flowing over/through the freezer motor, up into the refrigerator compartment.  So when the motor is frozen, stopped, there is no cold air going up into the fridge.  The very nice repairman came out and showed that to J, and when we asked him to even out the doors (one was hanging lower than the other and scraping the freezer door), he said we need a new hinge.

We haven't been back to the lake since then, since before the New Year's holiday, so when we went up this weekend, the first thing we checked was the freezer.  And there was ice forming inside again!  We already had an appointment with the 2nd repairman to come yesterday afternoon to replace the hinge.

When he walked in J immediately mentioned the ice again, and he basically told us to shut up, we didn't know what we were talking about!  Now of course, he didn't say that in those exact words, but he took one look at the appliance and said the reason it was freezing is because the freezer door gasket wasn't sealing and the door wasn't closing.  We immediately jumped on him and said we were POSITIVE the door was shut when we left because of the previous freezing issue...

This is where the "shut up" part came in:  the freezer door had a 1/4 inch gap on one side and no gap on the other.  The door wasn't sealing all the way so outside air was getting in and of course, causing the ice.

I LEARNed to listen to someone who knows more than me.  I LEARNed that neither my handy husband nor I was observant enough to catch that, even though we both know that could have caused the issue.  I LEARNed that I need, to borrow another phrase and bastardize it a little, to "stop, see and LEARN."

I need to SEE things to LEARN them, not just look at them.  I need to pay attention to LEARN.

And this is something I thought I knew, something I thought I had LEARNed long ago.

I was wrong.

30 Days of Lists 1

Ran across 30 Days of Lists, a blog/activity you can join in twice a year.  I'm not so sure that I can do 30 days in a row, so I thought I'd do the freebie list from March 2011 that's available on the site.  Maybe it will help me post a little more often if I keep this list in my planner...

The first list is called A few things about yourself...  Here goes...

1. Rumor has it (and it's more than rumor) that I have Lenni Lenape blood from a few generations back
2. My mom has lived in Poland, Siberia, Africa, England and the US (yea, that's more about her than about me but she's more interesting than I am!)
3. Hubby and I have been together (mostly) since 1990, living together since 1995, married since 1999
4. I have two stepchildren, M who's 35 and lives 1.6 miles away from us (YAY!) with her fiance and our granddog, and J who's 33 and lives somewhere in southern NJ (he estranged himself from us 6 years ago so we haven't seen him or heard from him since then)
5. I threw out 2 bags of bills in the past two days in an effort to declutter and clean up and organize
6. I am addicted to reading
7. I am addicted to HGTV but I REALLY wish they'd go back to assorted programming during the day, rather than marathons of the same shows, hour after hour
8. I want to retire
9. I want to retire
10. I want to retire
11. We're going on a cruise/vacation this year (Bahamas and Florida - Harry Potter World, here we come!)
12. We're going on a cruise to nowhere in November
13. I'm planning on writing out my Christmas cards over the summer, with a friend of mine, G, who claims this is her usual practice and that it takes a load off around the holidays...
14. I've gotten a second wind and am really buckling down at my new job and all its new idiosyncrasies
15. I got a text message at 5:15am on Tuesday that someone in the Ukraine tried to access my gmail account so I spent all day Wednesday changing sign-ons and passwords and I still have more to change
16. I'm getting the itch to cut my hair, even though I'm in the middle of trying to grow it a bit longer
17. I'm planning a surprise for someone and I hope it really works out
18. I got a work iPhone a little while ago and I'm about to get a work laptop, too
19. My nephew stopped by at 10pm last night with a Matchbox Scout for my husband!  And we're going to B&N next week to spend some time together
20. Can't wait for the sneak preview of Heaven Is for Real in March

LEARNing 3

Yea, that whole resolution to try to post more often?  Well, it was meant to include "about more things," but right now, that's not happening.  It's all I can do to stay on schedule with a weekly LEARNing post...  but here you go...

Did I LEARN anything this week?

Well, I don't feel that I LEARNed anything new, but I reLEARNed that I can, indeed, LEARN!

And this is a big thing!

I really applied myself at work over the past few days (yes, I'm taking a few minutes to write this post at the office!).  I have reduced my inbox to only 16 items (at this moment) with only one of those items unread.  And I didn't just delete the old ones:  I worked them.  I read them, responded if necessary, then filed them.  I've made notes in my planner for follow up, and will hopefully stay on track with them.

Yes, I've been working for over 30 years.  And yes, I've been doing my job and doing it well for those 30 years.  But I've always felt a bit under the gun, a bit more reactive with my time management than proactive.  And while I read almost every time management book or blog post I can get my hands on, implementation is a different thing.

But I've LEARNed this week that I can accomplish a lot in my day, if only I focus (last year's One Little Word!) and ignore the distractions.  I have to put my mind to it and just do it (thanks, Nike!).

I've ordered a new Franklin Covey refill, and just to make me feel better, a newer, nicer binder, too.  It came yesterday and I spent a small bit of time last night setting it up.  I have an unCalendar notebook that I was using for notes and To Dos at work, but I'm going to consolidate all of that into one place, my planner.  Phone calls, meeting notes, all will be in one place, easily accessible and dated, not like my notebook method.  I'll still use the highlighter to "cross off" completed tasks or returned calls; that has worked fabulously for me (thanks, Suzanne!).

Perhaps I'll take a minute here to catch you all up on a few things...

I bought myself a PictureMate photo printer.  The quality is great!  I'll be spending the next couple of nights printing out some photos for Saturday's crop.  I'll also bring it with me and print some there.  I'm debating using Costco one last time for a handful of photos, just to get a kickstart on Saturday's PL project.  I can print and let the photos dry as I need them if I have something to work on...  We'll see...

I went condo/townhouse shopping with my friend E.  She's in an apartment now, but luckily her dad has promised to help her with a generous down payment.  I love looking at other people's homes!  We looked at a wide variety of places, apartment-style condos, a single family home, a railroad style condo apartment...  The very last one, a flip, really caught her eye.  I'm not convinced about the area; it's in Hackensack, near Railroad Avenue, and the street is a bit run down.  There are some renovations going on, and rumor has it that this area is close to the downtown they're talking about revitalizing, but when you're a single woman, I don't think that's the right time to buy in an area that's not 150% safe.  It didn't look terrible, but it wasn't great...

I got a little mini cold last Friday.  I felt great yesterday but this morning, my throat's a little scratchy again.  It's almost time for me to go downstairs and get breakfast and take some Advil Cold and Sinus.  J seems to have gotten over his cold (yes, we were sick at the same time!).  I've taken Nyquil three nights in a row, and for the past two nights, I've woken up at the same time:  3:21am.  AM, people!  Really?  Why?  I took meds to help me sleep, and they always have in the past.  This time, though, not so much.  Thank goodness I was able to fall back asleep and not stay up for those two hours, waiting for the alarm to sound.

I LEARNed something cool on my computer that I think everyone should know:
     Control - Shift - T:  this will reopen a closed tab

You know, when you have multiple windows open and you, oops! forget and close one without writing down that phone number, address, email, etc.  Just hit Control - Shift - T and that window will reopen right there in front of your eyes!  It's like magic!

I actually heard my hubby mention that we might have to buy a new desktop for home.  The one he's working on is terrible - slow, a real dinosaur.  He won't touch my laptop, even though I've offered it to him.  I've recently decided that my next laptop will be a Mac, so maybe I can talk him into inheriting my laptop, and I'll get a new one...  I'm not thinking that will go over too well, but if you all keep your internet fingers crossed, who knows?!?!

I didn't go food shopping this week because I didn't feel well, so we're using what we have.  In theory, that's a great idea - use up those things that have been languishing around in your freezer, fridge or cabinets.  In reality, that means we went to Subway one day, had cold roast beef sandwiches for a snack that night, ate eggs for dinner two nights ago, with leftover mashed potatoes and boiled cabbage, and finally caved and got a rotisserie chicken from Costco last night, and opened a can of green beans and finished some pasta that was in the refrigerator.  While we're not wasting money eating out, I'm a little tired of my selection.  Tonight it will be frozen buffalo wings, mac'n'cheese, and whatever else is in the fridge.  I'm not too excited about tonight's menu (except for the mac'n'cheese, which I could eat every single day if it wouldn't make me as big as a house!).  I think I'll have to add "plan menu" to my planner and create a real shopping list, not just wander up and down the aisles until something catches my eye...

Well, gotta run and LEARN something new!  Back soon!

LEARNing 2

So January has started - it's the 7th already, people!  Do you know what that means?  That means we're starting the SECOND week of January already!  It's unbelievable to me, absolutely unbelievable, that we have been in 2014 for a week already!  Wasn't New Year's Eve 2013 JUST the other day???

As I mentioned in a previous post, LEARN is my One Little Word for 2014.

I've decided to try to post at least once a week specifically about my relationship with the word this year.  I won't promise to post once a week, but I WILL try to post once a week...  Life gets in the way, you know?

I don't feel as though I've really applied myself to LEARNing yet.  No classes, no non-fiction, just a lot of entertainment:  romance novels, mysteries, sit-coms, magazines...  (At least I'm not a reality TV buff...)

I'm sort of playing catch up at work, really trying hard to empty my inbox this week, because I have a funny feeling that next week will be busy.  People will be back from vacation, our customer service department will be active in Indianapolis (o.m.g.  They're nowhere near trained enough.) and I won't have my local warehouse to fall back on when things get messed up, weekly meetings will start up again, and I'll be losing a couple of hours at work every other week with my return to volunteering at school.

I want to start actively LEARNING next week.  Paying attention to titles, books, authors.  Opening the sample books and really paying attention to the various subject categories that fall under the AEC umbrella (Architecture/Engineering/Construction), my new specialty.  I want to be actively LEARNing how to use Salesforce.com and include it in my everyday workflow, not as an afterthought when I remember, "Oh, $hit, I forgot to enter anything into it today!"  I want to LEARN to manage my time better, at work and at home.  I want to have time to spend doing things in the house that need doing.  I want to LEARN to put my cell phone down - it interrupts time much better spent with my husband, even if all we're doing is watching bad TV together.

This is going to be a real LEARNing curve for me, and I have to remember not to punish myself or give up when I'm not perfect right out of the gate.  I'm going to open a page in my Notes app on the dreaded cell phone called "What I LEARNed This Week" and I hope each week there's something there other than "I LEARNed how to win at Level 70 in Candy Crush!"  (I've been stuck there for two weeks - if anyone has any clues...)  I hope I LEARN a new word, or a new program, or to be a better person, or how to enjoy the gym rather than hate it with every fiber of my being...  I hope I LEARN to manage my days better so I have more me/us time.

Let's see how this goes, okay?  Any helpful hints will be welcome (and not just about Candy Crush!).

Book Weather

From Shelf Awareness, Monday, January 6, 2014 - Volume 2, Issue 2158



Quotation of the Day


'Book Weather' in Minnesota



"Dear Rest of the World: In Minnesota we call this 'book weather.' Enjoy."

--Post on Facebook from Common Good Books, St. Paul, Minn., as the coldest weather in 20 years approached.

2014 - LEARN 1

Happy, merry 2014!!!  I wish you and yours nothing but the best in this new year!!!

For the past several years I've either signed up for or pretended to follow the One Little Word project that Ali Edwards created (One Little Word).  I've chosen "declutter" and focus as the last two words I chose.  I actually did "focus" two years in a row, and wasn't very successful.  (Let's not discuss the abysmal failure of my intent to "declutter" both mind and home...)

THIS year, however, my word was chosen for me.

LEARN.

My job has changed and while I've been able to skate through the past six months just sort of "faking it"' when it comes to learning the new things I need to know to do the job well, I have to really buckle down this first 1/2 year to ensure I still have a job on May 1st.  Skating just isn't going to cut it.  There is a lot more expected of me, a lot more I expect of myself, and the only way I'll succeed is if I declutter my mind and focus on learning.  (See where I went there?!?)

So LEARN is my new word.

My dad used to say, "Use it or lose it."  You know what, folks?  I used to be quite bright.  In fact, I was one of the smarter kids in my school.  But lately I feel as though I've forgotten how to learn, or perhaps I just haven't felt like applying myself.  I've lost it.  But I no longer have a choice.

I have an entire industry to learn, basically.  I will now be concentrating on architecture, engineering and construction, and the bulk of my accounts will fall into one of those three industries.  At my publishing company, we lump them all into one AEC category (see underlined, above).  I'm the lead for that category of books in my sales division, in my sales community.  (Team and community, by the way, are two words I'm beginning to dislike immensely.)

I have to learn the books, the authors, the accounts, industry trends, vocabulary, and personnel.  I have to learn to sell books (although I've been doing it for the past nine years, I'm going to be much more accountable).

I want to learn, too, to be a better person, a better wife, daughter, sister.  I want to cook better, read faster, think more clearly, be more creative.  And learning is involved in all of those endeavors, too.

So here I am, people, putting it out there for you all to see:  I plan on LEARNING in 2014.  And I plan on LEARNING a lot.

(I can already feel the gears grinding in my brain...)

Holy Moly, It's Been a While!

I haven't posted anything since November 14th.

Anybody still out there?

Considering how utterly boring my life is (wake up, shower, go to work, work, go home, sleep, repeat), the past month has been a bit overwhelming.

I may have mentioned my new job.  Well, it's turning into more of a career than a job, not that I was looking for a career at age 53...  It's just requiring a lot more daily work; there's no sliding, no easy day, no day when I can just let things sit 'cause I'll have plenty of time to do it (whatever "it" is) tomorrow.  No, I work.  I work many more hours a day than I used to --- and I'm not particularly happy about it!

I planned on winning the MegaMillions jackpot so I could retire for Christmas.  What an awesome gift to myself THAT would have been!  But I didn't win.  Not even $10.  Nothing.  Nada.  Nil.  Zip.  Squat.  Zero.  Not even the cost of my ticket.

So I still have to work.  And if I wasn't charged with posting it all on SalesForce.com, I'd be okay with the workload.  But trying to incorporate all this additional detail-work, record-keeping, into my workflow?  Nope, not doing too well at it.  I'm really going to try to do better.  Actually, it's not an option.  I have to do better or get slapped on the wrist for it at my annual review.

And then there's my knee.  And my knee surgery.  And my wondering at the last minute, in the waiting room at the surgical center, if it was a good idea to go through with it.  (For the record, yes, yes it was!)  I'm in physical therapy twice a week right now, and I'm thinking I really will have to go to the gym a couple of times a week at least post-PT.  While for the most part I'm pain-free now, I have to work back up to my normal level of strength, and it does get stiff and tight really easily...

Have I mentioned holidays?  Thanksgiving, although I don't have to do much, just 5 lbs of mashed potatoes and a salad, is a big deal for me.  And Christmas?  If it's not moving, it gets decorated in my house.  I even have a hat for my husband, for when he stops long enough for me to plop it on his head!  I'm WAY behind in my decorating, what with (a) a late Thanksgiving, (b) my 35th high school reunion on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, (c) my surgery on 12/5, plus recovery, (d) PT 2 days a week, (e) my birthday, and (f) gift shopping for Christmas.

My living room/library looks like who did it and ran, to use a phrase I learned as a child, which as an adult makes no sense, but I use it anyway...  I have boxes and ornaments and the detritus of everyday living just strewn around the floor, the coffee table, the end tables, the chair and sofas, and the dining room table.  My kitchen is a wreck and needs a thorough straightening up post-holiday cooking, pre-Christmas Eve party, which pretty much means the afternoon of the 24th, before my shower, before my guests, but after my cooking.  And just 'cause we haven't been there in a month, we're going to the lake this weekend.

Anyone have another 24 hours in a day they can lend me for the next 5 days?

We have family to see, friends to see, places to go...  And not nearly enough time to do it all.  But that's part of the wonder of the holiday.  When it gets right down to it, I have a spare room or two I can throw things into and then I can shut the door and no one will know what's behind Door # Messy.  I'm off until January 6, so I have some time to sort of week through that stuff that doesn't get put away but gets hidden away, so hopefully I'll be the proud owner of a clean and organized home sometime over the next two weeks.  Maybe not in time for Christmas, but certainly by the time I go back to work.  And in all honesty, isn't that what we all want?  To come home from work to a neat and clean home?

My knee feels okay today, but my head is throbbing, like a sinus pressure throb.  J is sick with diarrhea and an upset stomach (yay), my mom was a bit under the weather, too - and they both got sick after my birthday dinner.  (NO, I didn't cook!  We went out together.)  We all had different entrees, but shared french fries and dipping sauces.  I never even had a twinge of not feeling well, so I don't know what it is...  What I DO know is he'd better get well quick and keep his germs to himself.  I have a party to prepare for!

I got a beautiful hand knitted/crocheted infinity cowl from my sister P - in the most beautiful shade of purple!  It arrived in time for my birthday, and today it's going to be 53 degrees, and it will be CLOSE TO 70 DEGREES by Sunday.  This is NJ, for crying out loud!  It's supposed to be cold.  Okay, it doesn't have to be Arctic-ly frigid, but 69 degrees???  Really?  And then 32 by Monday?  Yea, I'm going to be sick over the holidays, I just know it...  But as long as I make it through Christmas Day, I have a HUGE pile of books and some more lined up on my Kindle so I'm ready.  And cable is paid for...  Bring it on!  NOT!

Today's my last day in the office until January 6, so I'd better go.  Happy Holidays to you all, and I'll try to catch up with some holiday posts and photos in the next couple of weeks...

HO, HO, HO!!!

Do I Have an Accent?

They're right!!!  Take this quiz and let me know how you did!!!

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have

What American accent do you have?

Your Result: The Northeast

 

Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island.  Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.

 

Philadelphia

 

The Inland North

 

The Midland

 

The South

 

Boston

 

The West

 

North Central

 

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...