More Bay Area Magic!

So ya'll know that I went to SJC again yesterday to facilitate their monthly JLT meeting. And, of course, when I go to the Bay Area, I just have to see someone I know - right?

I did! Yup - on the plane heading out there, my friend/former roommate Danielle's uncle was in first class! The neat guy I fondly call Uncle Jim really startled me when he reached out to grab my hand when I was passing his seat to head for my own in the back, blindly in my own world! :-)

Just so funny. All the places I go to, but I only ever see people randomly when I head to NoCal.

EXHAUSTED after that trip, though. Left house at 6 AM, got home at 10 PM. That's a long day, folks. I'm really looking forward to actually spending the night next month to (a) give me more time on the ground and with the local EEs, and (b) not give me such a freaking long work day!

Still sick. Cough has worsened. Throat feels like it was scraped raw with Brillo. Ugh. Oh, well, I guess. I'll get better when I get better. It's just so old to still feel like this after way longer than a month now.

Even despite exhaustion and sickness, it's a Wonderful Wednesday in my world - Chris has been gone to Austin since Sunday afternoon and he'll be home tonight! YAY! For some reason, I've missed him a lot more this time around than I usually do when we're apart for a night or two or three. I'll be very glad to have him home.

Hope ya'lls Wednesdays are going well! I'm off to grab a bite for lunch before tackling my afternoon meetings!

Award and TAG!

Sorry I didn't do Manic Monday this morning...I had an 11.5 hour work day with a 16 hour work day coming up for tomorrow (flying to SJC and back to facilitate their Joint Leadership Team meeting) and then another 10+ hour work day on Wednesday. At least those long hours make the time that Chris is out of town go by faster! To bad I don't work a strict 40, however...or I'd be done at noon on Thursday! Ah, well. At least my boss loves me! :-)

Sick again. Ok, not that I ever got better the first time, but this is new. Now I have this deep, raspy, awful cough. I really hope I'm not getting bronchitis or pneumonia. My chest feels awful, though...ugh, ugh, and ugh. Was tempted to call off work, but I have no sick time left after being sick for so much of January...and I absolutely cannot miss tomorrow's trip. So...I'm off to bed in about 10 minutes.

But first...

The lovely Siani has honored me again! I'm really going to have to come up with my own blogging award to give out, because Siani keeps giving me awards, and she's the one that I want to award!! You, my friend, are a treasure!


I'd like to pass this one along to Kristen at Beautiful Disaster. (Stay tuned, Kristen...you're tagged below, too

And the lovely Twinkle Mom of Sunflower Faith has tagged me with a Pretty Mama's MeMe. Now...as I have no two-legged children (yet!) but as a furmom to four and godmother to two, I'm going to modify just a bit so I can still play along!

Tell us five things that start with "Before I was a mom...".

If you’re tagged, you need to tag five pretty moms, as well as the one who tagged you.

The idea is that if you get tagged again, you will know you are really pretty!

Add your name to the bottom of the tagged persons list, and without bumping anyone off let the list grow. Tag five more moms to let them know they are pretty!

1. Before I was a furmom, I didn't realize that cats could have a personality as strong as humans.
2. Before I was a furmom, I never planned out meals that took into account the preferences of my two dogs! (Oh yeah, and my husband! Haha!)
3. Before I was a Godmom, I never spent hours on end going between two toy aisles in Target to figure out which toy was not only the most fun but also the safest.
4. Before I was a Godmom, I never drove a car that had a carseat in it...and that really makes all the difference.
5. Before I was a Godmom, I never truly experienced the wonder of seeing a fire station or a wild animal park - but taking my Gracie as well as our niece and nephew, Julia and Aubrey, was one of the most fun experiences in my life..

Tagged before:
1. Lovelymummy
2. Pek Imm
3. Momisodes
4. Ling that’s me
5. Janicepa
6. AnnieQ
7. Allthingspurple
8. Montessorimum
9. clumsy mommy
10. Sandra
11. KittyCat
12. VivianZ
13. Sweetpea
14. Sasha
15. Giddy Tiger
16. Wen
17. Jo-N
18. Janice Ng
19. Blur Ting
20. Soul
21. JYankee
22. Burg
23. Becki
24. Teri
25. Jenny
26. Dana
27. Carla
28. Christine
29. TwinkleMom
30. Tiffany

I am tagging:

1. Kristen
2. Deb
3. MamaBear
4. DallasMeow
5. Melanie
   

Take care, ya'll! I'm off to bed!

Friday Freewrite Vol. 1

Well this is neat...I was paying a visit to Janet at Fond of Snape and found that she'd done a neat MeMe - so of course I followed the source link and found myself at "A Life Less Ordinary"...a blog that I'm going to need to start reading! The MeMe hosted there is called Friday Freewrite, and I'm excited to participate!

So here we go...here's what is given as the directions:

Freewriting is writing, without editing, whatever comes to mind for a predetermined amount of time without regard to spelling, grammar, structure, etc.

I have set my timer for six minutes...let's see what comes spilling out of my mind.

I had my six month review with my boss yesterday...hard to believe it's already been six months! My payroll changeover was in mid-August (I forget the exact date) but I had a three week transition with closing out my old job and didn't really start until September, after Labor Day...and so here we are, with a lot more time gone by than I'd realized.

He started by asking me what was working well for me and what wasn't. I shared that I have a frustration over being involved as a project manager or team member or team lead for so many initiatives right now that I feel like I'm doing a lot of work but not accomplishing much. He promised, in the future, to ask me first before volunteering me up. He also explained that the reason he'd volunteered me for so many projects is to give me exposure to as many higher level managers as possible, so I'm in a good position to move up and move on after I've been in my job for 12-24 months. (At AA, we're encouraged to move around pretty often.) I expressed that my pleasure in my job was getting to work with a diverse set of people, and feeling like I am well accepted and respected.

His feedback for me was that he noticed that I was a bit timid for the first few months about fully participating in meetings, but that he figured that was because there was an enormous learning curve and since I'm the lowest level manager in most of our groups, he though I was probably feeling a bit intimidated. DING, DING, DING. Hit that in one. He followed that up by saying, however, that he'd gotten great feedback on my work from all of the project sponsors I've been working with and that he has noticed that I've been far more participative in the past few months and that he's even been impressed that I've slipped into a role of facilitator in some higher level meetings, to ensure we're staying on track and accomplishing our objectives. He told me that I should continue to get involved in as much as possible and he thought I'd be on my way to new roles before I knew it.

Since I just recently earned my PHR, he also asked me to look at my score report and let him know what areas I wanted to gain more exposure in so he could hook me up with the right people. Is this man not a dream to work for? It's a fabulous change from some of my prior bosses, and I'm so thankful to be in this job...and working for him!

Ok...six minutes. There you've got it! :-) By the way, if you're looking for a great online stopwatch, look no further!

First, Last, Now

For my 101st post on this blog (and thank you to the people who have given me almost 1100 unique hits), I thought I'd do a status quo MeMe - "First, Last, Now."

First

• First job: Working in my Dad's grocery store as a bagger - age 5. I got paid .50 cents after a couple hours of work. Mom used Dad's store as a babysitter.
• First screen name: Tiff7945 - still is.
• First funeral: Uncle Babe, age 6.
• First pet: Peppi, a Yorkshire Terrier.
• First piercing: Ears, age 12ish.
• First tattoo: A rose, lower left back.
• First credit card: Capital One, 1998.
• First kiss: Hmm...not sure.
• First enemy: Seriously? Enemy? Haha. That's so petty.

Last

• Last car ride: Home from the train station.
• Last kiss: Chris, as he was leaving for work tonight.
• Last movie watched: Super Troopers, sometime last week while we were working on the response to Chris' complaint.
• Last beverage drank: Pepsi.
• Last food consumed: Hot dogs and green beans.
• Last phone call: My mother. Joy. The reason I'm still awake.
• Last time showered: This morning before work.
• Last CD played: The mix CD I made in fall '04.
• Last website visited: Um...besides other bloggers? Don't know.

Now

• Single or taken: Married = very taken.
• Gender: Would this have changed at some point? Still female. Thanks.
• Birthday: October 8th.
• Sign: Libra.
• Siblings: None.
• Hair color: Brown.
• Eye color: Brown.
• Shoe size: 8.
• Height: 5'5 and I'm sticking to it.
• Wearing: Work clothes - dress khakis and a button down top.
• Drinking: Not.
• Thinking about: My mother. Argh.
• Listening to: Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

No one is getting tagged, but feel free to steal/do/let me know!

Six Unimportant Things

Twinkle Mom over at Sunflower Faith tagged me for this fun MeMe - I'm just sorry it took me so long to do!

Here are the Rules

Link to the person that tagged you.

Post the rules on your blog.

Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website

Let your tagger know when you entry is up


Six non-important things/habits/quirks about myself

My favorite kind of music is Big Band. Yes, I'm only 27, but this is the era of music that speaks to me the most.

I count blocks, boards, or cracks when I walk. And I never step on cracks. I prefer to put my foot wholly in a tile that I'm walking through. But with small tiles I just try to line up my heel with a line. Isn't that odd?

I only cook a limited amount of foods...and if I try something beyond one of my standards, I have to have a recipe card or book in front of me to follow line by line. My husband is totally opposite...he can take 5 ingredients you'd never think to mix and make it taste great.

My husband is my closest friend. I have a best girl friend, but my husband plays a role in my life far beyond my partner. I really don't know what I'd do without him.

I don't wear makeup as a general rule. If I have a fancy event to attend or an interview or something, I'll put my face together. But everyday stuff like work? Heck no. Couldn't be bothered. I don't even check the mirror most days. How sad, I guess. I'm such not the girly girl.

I have full-length conversations with my pets.

Ok...so who to tag...

• Siani
• Kelly
• Gattina
• Reynie
• Mama Bear
• Laura
  

Link Love - Tagged MeMe

Siani has tagged me for this very simple MeMe. Basically, you just have to copy and paste and change a little bit out, and you're done. Check it out!

———–START COPYING HERE———–There are a couple of rules.

Rule #1
Copy all the links below and replace a single link under the appropriate alphabet. If your domain name, or even the title of your blog, starts with an ” A,” you’d replace the link under that alphabet and put the replaced link at the bottom. Also, don’t forget to credit the tagger, or where you got the list from, at the end of the list with a full URL of the post so that a pingback gets generated.

1. alwaysbcmom.com
   
2. bloggingcents.com
3. caffeine-overload.com
4. delusionsofgrandeur.com
5. enjoyingtheride-jenn.blogspot.com
6. forumfinder.net
7. gotic-peach.net
8. happykeg.com
9. ipentimento.com
10. juliesjournal.com
11. kabalyero.com
12. ladybanana.co.uk
13. michaelpark.net
14. notjustmama.net
15. originalmx5.net
16. patrickdevivo.com
17. qweddings.com
18. rantingsofawoman.blogspot.com
19. sianikatts-gower.blogspot.com
    
20. tiffanyaller.blogspot.com
21. utada-online.net
22. valmg.com
23. wickedbabylon.com
24. xaviermedia.com
25. yimto.com
26. zbudapest.com

Replaced link: thinking-outloud.com

Previous tagger: sianikatts-gower.blogspot.com

Rule #2
You now have to “tag” at least five people and encourage them to participate so that this thing spreads like a virus. Remember, though, that not everyone’s into these kinds of things, so don’t be upset if they don’t participate. Just simply replace your tag. Remember to tag blogs only and no pornographic ones as we do want to keep the integrity as a blogging community. TIP: Tag your frequent EntreCard droppers via its messaging system.

1. Sandy
2. April
   
3. Twinkle Mom
   
4. Angelika
   
5. Laane
   

Rule #3
Just like any other “meme” out there, ask a question for your taggees to answer along with your own answer to your previous question. This is optional.

Here's your question, Breakfast at Tiffany's readers: why did you begin blogging?

———–END COPYING HERE———–

Tags coming...Rant first

In an effort to avoid writing a two-hour and 2000-word post about my mother being the laziest, whiniest, most negative and useless piece of shit I have ever encountered, I'm actually going to get the tagged posts done that I owed from last week! (But I will indulge myself in somewhat of a rant first. I desperately need to.)

Anyone expecting me to head to PA anytime soon should stop holding their breath. I love my father. And I hate that he's in a nursing home. But there is not a damn thing I can do for him right now. I talk to him on the phone as often as I can...and more often than not, he doesn't even realize who he's talking to. That wouldn't be any different if I were there in person. He can't be released in the mental state that he's in, he can't travel to my house in Texas like we'd hoped, and I'd sooner kill her than let my mother ever bring him back into her household. So unfortunately, it just is what it is.

But when I do finally go to PA, it won't be for a joyous family reunion. My mother has no concept of reality and simply expects everyone else to do for her because she's never had enough gumption to do for herself. That doesn't work in my reality. I work and have worked for every single thing that I have. So she wants help with her house? Fine. But it won't be the help she expects. I'll clear that house out so she can get out of it; fine. But it will be under my terms. Because living under hers would be unacceptable in any situation. She seems to think that I have this hankering desire to come load up a truck of stuff from her house to bring to my own. HA. I have my own life. And my own possessions. And it would be my first preference to burn her house down than clear it out. But since that's not exactly a rational thing to do, it'll get cleared out.

And anything I can sell, I will. But if she thinks she'll get that money, she's crazy. I've long since lost track of how many of her bills that I've paid to the exclusion of paying my own bills. And let's not forget the fund that was in my name and my dad's name I cashed out to pay for my wedding that she kept every penny of instead of turning over to me. Every single penny. To pay for home improvements. And let's not forget that I paid for not only my high school tuition (using my social security since my dad was over 65 and retired) and all of my college tuition. I did NOT expect her to pay for me to go to school. I simply worked all that much harder and at multiple jobs the entire time and taking 21 credits every semester so I could make it through as fast as possible so I could get the hell out of Pennsylvania. But I certainly did not expect to keep throwing money into her black hole and then lose a significant money that she blatantly stole from me to the detriment of my freaking wedding. We're talking many multiple thousands, here. And for two years, since she finished pissing away more money than I can even comprehend after my dad sold his interests in several businesses and several residential properties, I've put half of my pay every month to the misplaced hope of helping her get to a point where she'd leave me alone. Even after losing half of my pay when I changed companies. I skip lunch most days and do not spend a single penny on anything beyond bills so that I can throw money her way. And she has the nerve to be upset when I tell her that that's over...and give her 90 days notice 5 months ago...and that I need to start taking care of my own life? And she's still pissed? Bite me. My father's income when he was working was twice what my husband and I make combined. And she's the one that pissed away all of that money on every stupid damn possession she ever just had to have. So now she's the one that has to grow the hell up at the age of 65 and deal with it. A freaking budget would help, but she's never gotten beyond the thought that if she wants something, she should simply buy it. I've wanted a new pair of dress black pants for work for 3 months since my husband accidentally ruined my best pair. But I don't even have enough money left at the end of any given month to go to Burger King. But she goes out and buys all sorts of new shit because her only hobby is shopping and then expects me to pay her utilities. No. That's done.

So anything I can sell from her house, I will, and I will have no remorse doing it or keeping every penny of it. And once she's in a smaller/cheaper house or apartment, it's cut bait time. And at least since Dad's in the home, I can talk to him without her monitoring the phone call and visit him without having to see her. She's been a negative influence on my life for almost my entire life because she's never seen any use in me beyond what I can do for her. And I just can't live that existence any longer.

Argh. Rant over. The rest will simply continue in my head. Until that explodes, too.

Time to go do my tagged posts and get myself in a better place! :-) If you actually read all of this, bless your heart. And if you have a magic wand, please wave it!

Thanks, Siani!

I got a really neat award from Siani - and I love it!



I'd like to share this award with a few ladies I haven't honored before, but whose blogs I love:
Jennifer
Twinkle Mom
Dallas Meow

Make sure to pass along the award...and give a link back to Siani since she created it!

My New Favorite Photo

I was going to post another rant-y kind of post today in lieu of a TT, but have decided against it. The gist is that I don't get my dinner out with Chris tonight OR for Valentine's Day because the State apparently hates me and he has to work both nights now instead of neither. Pout. Further, my mother-in-law has apparently joined in the ranks of my brother-in-law and has made a rather startling announcement...which she is now trying to retract. Odd-ness.

Instead of rants or a TT, I thought I'd share my new favorite photo. My old one was this:

Who's that schmuck in the photo with RICK MEARS?

But now, my new favorite is this one, taken last evening at an event at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum:

That's me. That's CHUCK YEAGER. I can die happy now.

Have a great day, ya'll. I'm going to try to go lower my blood pressure.

Tiffany