I'm Back...and a Little Blue

My posts have gotten very sporadic and for this I apologize. I think I have forgotten how to travel and be productive. Maybe its the incredible lack of sleep recently. Whatever it is, I am feeling less than inspired.

Late last week I was in Wisconsin for work. Since I needed to be there Friday for training and Monday for launch, I stayed the weekend. Those days were very interesting, and for the most part very good. Somehow in four days I fit in travel, work meetings, a new project launch, a county fair, delightful parent time, several dinners, a college graduation, an art fair, and lots and lots of four year-old time.

I plan to post all the pictures when I get access to them (not my camera), but in the meantime, I can talk about some of my nonsense time.

Michael and I are lucky to have a herd of nephews and a beautiful niece. One of the nephews lives next door to my parents, which means if you are in one of the houses, you are certain to have his company. Since I last saw him, he has evolved tremendously and is even funnier than he was before. I kid you not, this small person makes me want to be a parent. I have never met a child (and I said this even when he was a baby!), that makes me go, "hmmmm...I want one of these. This would make me a better person".

I have considered ways of stealing him, and I even offered to buy him. Sadly, my brother and his dear wife love this child and want to keep him. Perhaps if he is still talking up a storm and having tantrums behind the couch in three months they might reconsider. I am hoping so. He would fit perfectly in our half-of-house.

In the meantime, I would like you to envision me running around my parent's front yard playing "soccer" with a beach ball. We then moved on to countless games of "basketball" where we threw said ball into a tree. Then for some reason I was instructed to sit behind the tree with my eyes closed while my nephew sat on the other side. We were not allowed to speak. This was followed by a sneak attack around the house, pretend camping, and snack time. When asked what type of snack he wanted, he replied with, "I can have anything I want. Nana says". I could use a few of those mindless activities at the moment.

The weekend is baring down upon us and I am optimistic that I will get out of my funk.I need some rainy days and a glass or two of wine on the front porch. I really need to feel awesome. As my darling nephew says, "I awesome, I so awesome". Oh please, please, please....make me awesome.

Work Makes it Better

Lately I've been feeling worn down and brutally serious. I'm a worrier by nature and I've unfortunately let a few things get to me and interrupt my normal state of being. I am on a plane at 6a tomorrow morning and while I normally would be thrilled, I am a tad apprehensive this trip. Michael and I still have a lot to sort out, and I feel conflicted about leaving for 5 days. So I must then thank work for distracting me.

Two very amusing things happened today. One, we are holding an office decorating contest. Each group in the organization is creating a space that they can claim as their own. There are murals, and wall art and crazy themes everyone. We even have a cubicle bowling alley. The teams have worked exceptionally hard and the results are incredible. I will post more as they come in.On another note, I was handed a list today of all the things that another department overheard one of MY teams talking about. Keep in mind that these are good people and the team is actually very productive. They just have a stream of consciousness that is not exactly HR-friendly. Which means of course that I absolutely love it. Here are a few of my favorite topics (there were 37 on the list) that some of my employees talk about during business hours:

1. Maury Povich
2. Zombies
3. Nonobots
4. Robots
5. Kielbasa (I must point out that the eavesdropping department spelled this wrong! Geez, are non of them from Wisconsin?)
6. Ritualistic Serial Killers
7. The Visually Impaired
8. Magnetic Testicles
9. Racial Habits and Credit, Cars, and Divorce
10. Zombies...again
11. Christopher Walken's nude modeling career with cats
12. Chicken phobias
13. Flaws in forensic procedures
14. How to cut up and dispose of a human body, and
15. Utilizing racial stereotypes to inspire fear. Not to be serious, but just to screw with people.

So say the future leaders. So say the backbone. This list is so going up on my board. I shall refer to it often.

They are Trying to Kill Me

I thought pets were good for a person. Science says that people who own pets have lower blood pressure, live longer, and are overall just happier. These said scientists are full of crap, because my pets are trying to push me into an early grave.

Jazmine (the oldest cat on earth) disappeared awhile back. Just poof, gone. We looked for her and left her bed and food out where she could find it, but she never returned. We sadly assumed that she went off to die, because she really was that old. I know, I know, I have been bitching about her for some time.. The Vomitorium has made me crazy, and poor Michael is still finding fur attached to his socks. But we miss her. She is the only pet that was with us as we started our journey together from Wisconsin, to Texas, to California and now North Carolina. The others we picked up along the way.

We just assumed we would never see her again or know what really happened...until I swear I saw her last week. I was out running with Iona one morning and saw this black blur across the street. I would swear to anyone that it was Jazmine. She froze. I froze. I said "Jazmine?" and Iona woofed. At that point the cat crawled down into one of the giant sidewalk sewer drains. My heart was just pounding and I know it wasn't from the run.

Then there is Chupa. I don't know if she is having separation issues, but she is freaking nutso. At one point in her life, we didn't think she knew how to meow. Now I want to rip it out of her. She starts meowing at 3a and continues until both Michael and I are out of bed. Then she goes back to bed. At night she climbs all over us on the couch and meows her head off. Oh for the love of god, make it stop. Again, the blood pressure just keeps rising.

Iona the Cancer Corgi seems fine, but her saga is far from over. Apparently Iona's vet and oncologist were chatting today and want the dog to be on thyroid meds twice a day. For THE REST OF HER LIFE. They are pretty sure that her rapid weight gain is due to the haywire hormones and are worried that there will be other nasty effects if untreated. They also want her to undergo chest x-rays every three months to ensure the cancer has not come back in her lungs. Every three months? Ohhhhhhhhhh, this just makes my stomach hurt. Every vet visit is now a trial of patience and stress and just sheer exhaustion for both of us. Scientists are stupid. My pets are really trying to kill me.