Training

I went to training this week.  There are many observations I can make about it.  First, it was held in the corporate training center.  It was a very nice facility - a private hotel and conference center owned by our company.  It made me giggle just walking in because, if you had any doubts, this is confirmation that I work for a BIG company.  It was my first time at this facility and I just kept marveling all week.  I mean - private hotel, state of the art conference center, executive chefs on site, etc, etc. 

My second thought was....oh my gosh, don't let my dad find out about this.  He will never get over this example of corporate excess!    I laughed about that all week too. 

My third thought about my training was - this stuff I am trying to learn is HARD!  I was in a class that was all about the use of statistical tools to drive continuous improvement.  I took stat in college and actually loved the class.  But I struggled with this class.  I was in the class with all engineers and it seemed very easy to them.  Not so much to me.  I struggled and struggled.  It took the better part of two days for me to even get to the point that I didn't want to cry.  It was a tough week to get thru but I made it.  Now I have to go back to work and use the tools and come back in a month and share my results.

Dogs

Dogs make me happy.  I don't know why.  But anytime I see a dog, any kind of dog, I smile.  They just seem to be so happy all the time.  They are simple creatures, feed them, give them a little attention and they are just estatic to be around you.  How can that not make you smile??  Nothing philosophical to say about that, just an observation.

I bought a house!

Griff found the house on the internet and sent me the link.  So I drove by it and liked the outside.  I checked it out on the internet again and saw that it was scheduled for an open house that week.  So, I went to the open house on Thursday.  On Friday morning I made an offer.  It took all day Friday to come to an agreement but by the end of the day I had an agreement to buy a house!!

Griff is excited because he found it and there is NOTHING that needs to be done before or after we move in except decorate.  Unlike our current house that I found and needed lots of work. 

The view from the driveway.

I love this house, it is over 150 years old.  Lots of character.  It is 4 bedroom so there is room for a guest bedroom, an office for Griff and a craft room for me!  I am so excited!  See all the pictures below. 

The fireplace in the formal living room. 

I foresee many hours on this porch reading and drinking coffee.

Formal Living room.  The floors are the original hardwood restored and beautiful!

This is the dining room and the outside door goes to the porch pictured above.

The kitchen has granite tile countertops, custom built oak cabinets, all new stainless steel appliances, tile floor, and one exposed brick wall. 

Lawn Decoration

I love this beach town I am staying in.  Only in a beach town is it acceptable to decorate your lawn with armed flamingos and targets for them to practice their skills on.  I drove by this house on Thursday evening and cracked up when I saw this. 

The decorations are even better because they are on the street that probably has the most expensive houses in town.  It is the beach front street in town.  And right in the middle of it are these birds.  Too priceless!!

Don't mess with the birds in this town!  I guess this will be added to my list of weird encounters with birds since I moved here.  They are fake but they are fake birds so I rule that they get included. 

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my sister's birthday.  Happy Birthday Beth!!  I have big plans in honor of your day, you know... laundry, grocery shopping, all those really fun things.

I worked all day yesterday.  5:15 AM - 1:15 PM.  Early mornings are not my favorite.  I came back to the hotel when I got off, took a shower and slept for 2 hours.  We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for 400 people.  It was good to do but exhausting.  Our employees like it, enjoyed the food. 

I hope this coming week is better than last week.  Last week was a very challenging one for me.  And people kept telling me that I talked to them about things that I absolutely did not remember talking about.  Maybe stress or I am losing my mind!  Or the stress is causing me to lose my mind.

Exhausted

The last 2 days have been exhausting.  I hate drama with those I love.  I hate arguing.  I hate crying.  I hate feeling as if I can't talk to loved ones. 

Tonight I plan to go to bed early.  Tomorrow has got to be better than the last two days.  Please!!

Families are Hard

So, this morning I got mad enough at a member of my family that I hung up on them.  If you are a member of my family and are picking up the phone to call me and see what I am talking about, DON'T, I'm not going to tell you about it.  What happened to make me mad is not important.  What happened next is the important part.  I took some time to calm down, calmed down, called the person back and talked through the issue. 

Families, whether by birth, marriage or choice, are hard.  Families are messy. Families are all in your business, whether you want them there or not.  One thing families are not is optional!  It is not an option to give up on a family member - at least not in my world.  They make you mad, you get over it and call them back. 

I've known a lot of people that aren't close to their family and I have never understood it.  My siblings have been a constant in every stage of my life.  I speak to them and see them as often as I can.  Families are our shared history.  When we talk about having a weinie roast and seeing if Beth will sing 'Neighbors', my siblings and I laugh because we have that shared history.  When my friends from high school post, 'It's 11:11" on Facebook, we all laugh because we understand, 30 years later, what it means. 

I am not always the best wife, daughter, mother, sister, or friend that I can be.  But I never stop trying to do better.  Do you?