Looking into the future

I've been meaning to post this for awhile now. This is the lady that rides (very very slowly) through the neighborhood on her adult trike with her two little lap dogs slowly going along with her. The first time I saw her I did a double take and had to laugh, realizing that could be me in 40 years or so. Sure, now I am young and have my two big sporty labs and my 10-speed, but by the time I'm her age, I might be there myself. Anyway, I always get a good chuckle when I watch her pedal slowly by.

You may notice I opted for a pic out the dining room window after she had passed, though I kept trying to figure out a way to inconspicuously jump in front of her and get a real photo... but I couldn't figure out how to make that work.

The garden

Usually this time of year I can't stop blogging about my yard and garden. This year I've been preoccupied... nonetheless, here's what's growing in the garden here at the Nichols homestead:

- Weeds: lots of them. I am always amazed at how fast weeds grow and take over everything. Sure feels good to be out pulling them!

- Grass. Why is it that I can grow grass in my gardens (and can't get rid of it) but not in my yard where I want it????

- Tulips, lots of beautiful tulips. And since I started applying dog hair early in the season, I've had no casualties to the wabbits. This dog hair trick works like a charm, I highly recommend it. And if you ever need any, I know where you can get some ;)

-Daffodils

-Hyacinths (grape and regular)

-Lots of columbine- that appears to be spreading everywhere, it isn't blooming yet, but it's popping up all over the place.

-Peonies - they're really sprouting these days

- My bush cherry is blooming

- the lilac bushes are covered with leaves

- the strawberry plants are all greening up

- the clematis that I keep nearly killing has reappeared, we'll see if this is a better year

- forsythia

- hosta

- lilies (several kinds poking up)

- and more...

Naturally, I've got a thousand things I want to do in the yard and garden, and never enough time and resources to do them all. Sigh. Now to choose which ones to concentrate on... Guess I should probably go put my feet up and make a new list for the outside projects.

Happy Spring!

Exhaustified

We are all pretty tired here at the Nichols Homestead. I picked the dogs up from my parents around 5 pm today (after some softball practice, where i was totally useless). We came home and it has been a very quiet, very tired sort of evening. So tired, in fact, that the rawhide bones I gave the BOC upon their arrival have gone completely unchewed. If you've every seen my mutts rip into a rawhide bone, you may understand how tired we all are. Me from a weekend of weddingness, being a maid of honor for the first time, writing and delivering a toast (in front of a lot of strangers), wedding wedding wedding... lots of fun, meeting lots of people (mostly family of the bride and groom) and catching up with lots of my good friends who were at the wedding. The BOC are exhausted from a weekend at "Grandma's" (my parent's), lots of running around, playing with the other dogs, wading in the creek, begging for more people-interaction (suzie), and all the fun that comes with a weekend at Grandma's.

Seriously, we haven't even touched the rawhides, except to carry them to our nap location of choice, lest we get so inspired. I can't think of my own rawhide equivalent, but I'm exhaustified. Can't believe all the festivities are done... or that I have to be up and at work at 8 am with lots to do.

What a weekend!!!

Steve's sister and sister-in-law examine some lingerie at the bachelorette party (for the record, I think they are both awesome- as are the expressions in this pic ;)


The radiant bride - and me... don't just don't look too closely at the dress alterations :)

The happy couple


A wedding first for me - Uncle Elvis impersonator... who sang for the happy couple... at length. wow...

A cute boy I adore...


And enough wedding-sass to go around :D

Strange, really strange

Hi Friends. You may wonder what the heck is wrong with me. In fact, I wonder what the heck is wrong with me. It's 12.46 am on Friday night. You are the Maid of Honor for your housemate's wedding and getting up early. Why on earth are you blogging?

The answer: I don't know. I have a toast to write. Wedding-ness to gather for tomorrow. A car to vacuum (which simply isn't going to happen). Muffins to make (also not likely). Toenails to trim and paint. Fingernails to buff. Shoes to locate. ... yeah... On a positive note, the bachelorette party went well (last night), the bridesmaid dress alterations came out okay (and free), I found silver sandals in wide and they arrived in the mail yesterday, the dogs are at my parents for the weekend since I won't be around to take care of them. And it seems like the details are well in hand (or at least i think so, since I worked today, so I couldn't participate in the hall set up, etc).

The house is quiet. It is very strange. The bitches are at my parents for the weekend. As much as I love a quiet, alone house (yes, I am an introvert), I don't like a house devoid of my puppies. It happens so rarely - usually they visit Camp Grandma (my parents) only when I'm gone. They are my constant companions. My entertainment. My reason to get up some days. My reason to go to bed other days (Maggie gets grouchy when kept up past her bedtime). Theyhadow (Suzie) or comment (Maggie) on my every move. Nope, my life does not revolve around my dogs, but they are definitely an important part of home for me. And even if it's just for a couple nights, it's really weird to be home without them. It's so quiet. Lifeless. Lonely.

Well, sort of. Really the bride and her bridesmaid friend are upstairs in bed, where I should be. But I have to find the silver nail polish. Jot down the toast thoughts rolling around my tired brain. Change a load of laundry. Load the coffeepot for an early morning. Make another list of things to remember...

And it's strange to be at the end of an era. I've lived with this particular housemate for nearly 5 years!! One of my longest. Not always an easy road, we've stretched each other a lot, and yet, it has definitely been an era of blessings. One of God's faithfulness to me, to her. And the big wedding tomorrow is yet another expression of God's incredible faithfulness. So happy wedding day, my friend, may the Lord bless you abundantly.

Here's to the end of an era...

"Cheese"

For the sake of balance

Here's some pics of the latest model. I am so mush over this little man!!! This was at his baptism the weekend before Easter. Can we tell he is loved? Ahh, look at that cute face!!!

The reasons Saturday isn't always productive

I know, I know, I definitely blog too much about my dogs... edging toward crazy dog person... but I couldn't resist sharing these....


Anytime I'm in the yard trying to get some work done, this is what I'm up against:




Besides, we all know I'm not very good at saying "No" especially in the case of a cute exhuberant little dog. And Suzie definitely has a one track mind!


Speaking of dogs and saying no, Maggie does not share my problem, she says "No" all the time and enjoys it:

And now you know my secret, and why my shoes always look like this:

Classy huh?

The Communist

There’s this really fun girl, probably around my age, who seems to be friends with everyone. We’re going to call her “Red”. She’s clearly an extrovert, and not surprisingly, part of the sales crew. On my first day, the Cat in the Hat warned me that she’s really into her dogs and as soon as she finds out I’m a dog person, she’ll try to draft me to volunteer for her rescue group. Sure enough, within 30 seconds of meeting her, she asked if I liked dogs and if I’d like to volunteer for her rescue group. Thankfully she didn’t wait for an answer and proceeded to show me pictures of her two dogs, which are all over her office. Somehow I could tell she’s one of those dog people. The next day she came over to my cube and we were comparing dog stories and she was telling me how great it is coming home to happy dogs “Mommy mommy”… yup, she’s one of those dog people. I didn’t want to burst her bubble and expose that I’m not one of those dog people, that the BOC just call me “Reenie” and never “Mommy.” Regardless, we’re planning to get together for a doggie play date sometime, her two, my two, and see how it goes.

She’s just across the hall from our ES group down in the coliseum (in an office). She stopped by as soon as I moved down there to let me know that she’s got her own mini fridge I can stash stuff in if I want and she’ll share her coffee maker too (she loathes Neverland coffee as much as I do). She and her husband just bought a foreclosure house and are in the process of a lot of home repairs and remodeling, another connection point. I think we’re going to be friends.

Oh yeah, and the reason they call her The Communist is that when she was very young, she and her family escaped communism in a eastern European country and went to Canada and then the US. Ever since then, she’s been kind of obsessed with communism and always tells coworkers if she hears anything about communists and what they are up to. Not that she is one; just that she is rather by them… thus the nickname. Sometime I want to hear the detailed version of the escape, but until then, at least I understand why they call her that.

The Coffee

As you know, Neverland is a large corporation. I couldn’t have told you what my coffee expectations were going into the job, but I guess I had some since discovering the terrible coffee served there was kind of a let down. There are numerous little coffee / kitchenette areas in the building, each with a mini fridge, plates and napkins, coffee makers and water. Neverland may have their own cafeteria, with great food, but they do not make good coffee!! I have no idea what brand it is, but it is not what I consider to be worth drinking. Sigh. I guess I assumed a company with such good benefits would make a decent pot of coffee, but apparently the two are unrelated.

Now that I think about it, I do remember wondering why so many people had coffee makers in their cubicles… hmmm… Note to self, next time you’re job hunting, be sure to ask for a cup of coffee during the interview process. Maybe work it into your salary negotiations or something.

I can’t really complain, I always make my own coffee-snob coffee in the morning anyway, put it in a travel mug, and head for Mass and then work… so nothing has changed, but I figured you’d be dying to know about the coffee…

The Stapler

My second day at Neverland, Thing 2 comes over to my cube and hands me one of those heavy duty staplers. Naturally I think of the old cult classic Office Space and the guy who gets moved all over the cube world and just wants his stapler... so I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. Thing 2 goes on to explain that he’d already ordered one but then got this from the desk of a former member of the ES group. I thanked him and put it in my desk, figuring I don’t need my own heavy duty stapler since there’s a shared one in the supply room, but what the heck.

A few days later, Thing 2 stopped by my cube to show me his new stapler. And what a stapler it is! As he’s showing me, he’s excitedly explaining that it staples 60 pages, I mean, 60 pages!! I refrained from asking how often he thinks he’ll need to staple 60 pages and just showed enthusiasm for the stapler. When Thing 2 moved to the Coliseum, he proudly arranged the new stapler on his desk. Moments after arrival, his sister (Foo Foo the Snoo) stops by to see his new spot (she’s now across the hall from us, which makes for some entertaining brother-sister bickering). She’s like “What on earth is that huge stapler for?” Thing 2: Isn’t it awesome? Look, it’s so great, it staples 60 pages with no effort at all. Watch. (I hear stapling through my cube wall). Foo Foo was skeptical and made some comment about not believing he’d ordered his own huge stapler.

A few hours later, The Cat in the Hat stops by to see how the move went and if we’re all set up down in the coliseum. He also notices the huge stapler and comments, “Woah, that’s quite a stapler!” Thing 2: “Yeah, check this out! It’s got a 60 page capacity and it makes it soooo easy, just watch (more stapling sounds).” The Cat in the Hat makes some comment about him being all set if he ever has to staple large quantities of paper.

Within an hour, Red stops by from across the hall… and, yup, you guessed it, she also asks about the stapler, and I heard another rendition of the glories of the heavy duty stapler.

Good thing we’ve got dividing walls between our cubes or he would have seen me busting up at my desk. At least I know where to go if I have to staple 60 pages “with almost no effort!” ... and I do feel a prank coming on...

The Actual Job

My first two weeks at Neverland was mostly training, lots and lots of training. And I’ve got more training in my future. In the following two weeks though, I’ve gotten real work assignments. And now that they’ve started, I don’t think I will ever be bored here… there’s plenty to do. Currently I have at least 6 different assignments on my desk and more in the works. My first week of real work I got dizzy at the amount of stuff to learn and the questions I was generating. But in the past week or two I’m finally feeling less overwhelmed by the work and I’m starting to be more familiar with all the terms, etc. It’s definitely a learning curve for me, but a great fit overall.

Last week I was working on some doc reports (which is a big part of my job) and had some ideas for ways to make them more usable, ways to change up the format a bit, add a coverage, use consistent styles and headings, etc. Simple stuff really. So I started making a template of what I think we should all be doing to make them work and look better. Thing 1 came by my desk to answer some questions and saw my new template and raved about how AMAZING and professional it looks, and how on earth did I come up with it? Etc. It’s nice to be appreciated. The next day I took it to the Cat in the Hat’s office because we were working on a different doc report and I was suggesting some changes, and then showed him how it would look in my new format. He loved it and suggested I start converting any docs I’m working on into that format and to start using it (which meant more work that day, but was good in the long run). The boss has given me a lot of room and encouragement to make suggestions, change thing up, use my expertise to make improvements. I am feeling more and more like an integral part of the team, and it’s all really good.

After being there a whopping 10 days, they moved me from the Village (the other cube area I was in) to a new area (without a name, but with the advice of friends, I’m calling it the Coliseum). Thing 1 and Thing 2 were also in the Village but at different ends from me. Now we’re all lined up in a row in the coliseum and just down the hall from Cat in the Hat’s office. I think it will be good to be all in the same spot, and it has already added a new level of amusement for me.

The Guys

Let me introduce the gang:
My department, the electrical safety group, is technically 6 people.

My boss is great, very personable, brilliant in all things electrical, and a great boss. We’ll call him the Cat in the Hat. He's been in the field for years, used to work for our biggest competitor and has only been at Neverland for 2 or 3 years. He's a solid family man (I met and love his wife), has two beautiful daughters, and clearly strives for balance at home and at work. I can't say enough great things about him- God sure has blessed me with a good boss.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 are the certification project managers (CPMs), the ones I’ll do most of my work with. Thing 2 started just two weeks before me, so he and I are learning a lot together. The first couple weeks we had numerous days where we spent most of the day in the Cat in the Hat’s office learning the ropes. Thing 1 has been there a year and a half and is a walking brain. He definitely knows the ropes and is a genius at all this electric stuff (or at least he has me convinced). For the first year, I’ll be working the most with Thing 1 and writing his documentation and helping him on projects, while Thing 2 learns how to do everything on his own before I start helping him. Guess he’s gotta learn it himself so he will really appreciate having someone else (me) doing his documentation in the future.

Then there is the lab side of the ES group, which includes two guys I can’t come up with nicknames for yet. Then again, I have less stories about them since they spend most of their time in the lab and I don’t see them too much yet.

And then there’s me, the brand new technical writer, who is just learning about all things electrical, and the lone woman in our group.

Other characters who aren’t in the ES group but work directly across the hall include Foo Foo the Snoo who is Thing 2’s older sister and works in sales with Red.

Stories from Neverland, Part 1

I don’t know exactly how to tell stories on my blog about real life people who could, potentially, however unlikely, stumble upon them later. That’s the weird thing about a blog that anyone can read… you’re never sure who is out there. So I’m instituting code names for work and for my coworkers.

Work will be from here forth referred to as “Neverland” … I’m not sure why, but it seems appropriate somehow.

I’ve been wanting to introduce the gang and share some work stories, but coming up with good code names is harder than I thought. With some help from a brilliantly witty friend, I’m going to use Dr Seuss names and see how it goes.

When you give a Reenie a Saturday...

I'm sure that other people sometimes have days like this... and frankly, I find them rather amusing, though not nearly as productive as I'd like. At this moment I can honestly say I was busy and working most of the day, and didn't accomplish a single thing I set out to accomplish. Awesome.

My plan: clean the first floor of house (kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom), do some house laundry (dog blankets, rags, etc), and do my spring yard clean up day (raking and scooping the back yard and cleaning out the dead foliage from the backyard garden areas). Seems simple enough doesn't it?? Sigh.

What happened: I started work on the dining room, pulled the dog blankets off the cushions to find Mag had thrown up on hers, so I cleaned up vomit from the floor and had to move the crate to get the rest of it. Moving the crate, I realized it had been awhile since I really cleaned under and around the crate. So I unloaded all the plants from the top of the crate, wiped down the board, moved the crate and found another dog's worth of dog hair under there, washed the walls surrounding the crate, and threw the dog blankets in the wash.

When I went to put the plants back, a few of them really needed repotting, it's been bothering me for weeks... so I pulled out some pots and the soil and repotted a few of them... which led me to repotting some of the other plants around the house, and potting some of the cuttings I've had in the wine bottles along the kitchen window... which led me to taking all the bottles down and washing them all before returning a few of the cuttings to their bottles... then I repotted another plant or two... and realized there was dirt all over the counter... so I started wiping that up, and got distracted by the dirty dishes next to the sink... so I unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it, noting there's some water remaining in the bottom these days and I should take it apart someday soon... but not today, I'm much too busy. I went back to the dining room, realizing that under the crate is immaculately clean, but nothing else is. So I sorted papers and magazines, recycling a lot of old publications and putting papers to file in a pile.

I took a lunch break, wasted a half hour eating and checking facebook, returned a couple phone calls, opened the mail, and eventually went outside for yard clean up. Suze and I played ball for 20 minutes and then I got out the necessary supplies. I started scooping. Then raking. Then back to scooping. Then trimming Maggie's bush. Then getting rid of some more dead foliage. Then loathing the pine trees and their pine cone spread. Then taking a pic of the pine trees that I loathe. Then I got distracted by spring bursting forth in the yard and took some pics of bulbs coming up, buds on the bushes, Suzie and her ball feddish, and other random things. Then I went in to get water... and got distracted by the dining room. So I dusted the dining room. Then realized I was still wearing my coat and garden gloves and really should head back outside. Returning to the yard, Suze wanted more ball. Maggie wanted to play chase. So we played for awhile, soaking in the sunshine... then cleared out dead foliage from the strawberry bed... then back to raking and loathing the pine cones...

I think you get the idea. It's 9 pm. I need to run to the grocery store for cantalope. The first floor is far from clean. The yard isn't quite done. And my saturday is spent...

Like I said, when you give a Reenie a Saturday...

The Curtains

As I mentioned a week or two ago, I made new curtains for my dining room. I love them! I love the color, the material, the curtain rod, that I accomplished one thing in the month of March... yes, I love them. And though this probably isn't that interesting to most of you, here's a quick pictoral how to (for a certain friend out there who is also making curtains). I'm sure there's a more professional way of doing this... but this is how I did it... and it only took a couple hours. (Note that I did not line mine, so if you line yours, they will be slightly different. But the tabs part will be the same.)

1. Cut fabric for window sizes

2. Cut tabs (I made mine 10 x 4 inches)

3. Fold tab in half, longways and inside out, to form a tube. Sew right sides together.

4. Turn rightside out

5. Iron flat

6. Fold the end over slightly and iron flat

7. Hem all sides of main curtain panels, measure an even distance between tabs, pin in place, sew tabs to curtain panels.

8. Install curtain rods (hopefully your drill batteries don't decide to die like mine did).

9. Hang curtain on rods by tabs... (iron them first if you want to get the creases out... oops)

10. Voila!! New curtains!!

(and yes, they do close all the way, I just wasn't very careful before taking the picture.) And as a friend told me today "They look like a garden" which is good because with all those plants on the windowsill, I definitely think the room was lacking "garden"... haha.

One of those days...

You know it's going to be one of those days when:


1. You trip on your shoe on the way to the alarm clock... twice...

2. You hit "snooze" four times before dragging your sorry behind into the shower

3. There's hair in the shower drain and the outfit you were planning to wear needs to be ironed... so you change your plans...

4. Lake Suzie is gracing the kitchen floor when you make it downtairs and the good rags (as in the large absorbent ones) are down in the wash

5. You're running later than you should be (see #2 and 3 and 4) so you don't having time to dry your hair, resigning yourself to frizz and crazy hair for the duration of the day

6. You pour coffee into your travel mug and run out the door for work, battling prime rush hour traffic

7. As you sit at the light just a block from work (at exactly 8:01 am), you look down to see that you have coffee all over your chest... and your shirt is light pink... so there's no hiding it...

8. You thank God for those little Shout wipes you bought yesterday for just such an occasion, while cursing the stupid travel mug and it's leaking ways

9. You wipe furiously, hoping no one in front of you or behind you can see what's happening (and dreading that at least one of them works with you)

10. Your stains are still quite prominent, you button the jacket and head into work, carrying the accursed coffee mug and it's remaining contents

11. You turn on the computer and get things rolling for the day before heading for the bathroom to try again on the coffee stains

12. While you're in there, you figure you'll wash out your big water mug... and thanks to the automatic faucets and soap dispensers, rather than a nice rinse, you get handsoap all over the mug, which requires more washing... and causes more soap to dispense... you eventually give up in disgust.

13. Next you attack the coffee stains front and center on the chest of your light pink shirt, which you manage to get a bit better, still noticable, but hopefully with the jean jacket, no one notices...

14. Before leaving the bathroom, you just happen to notice your hair, half of which has flipped out, and the other half in... all of it with a nice overall frizz. Great.

15. At lunch, you manage to drop lettuce covered with dressing on your lap. More furious scrubbing with the Shout wipes.

16. You wonder what is next... or what you've already done and haven't noticed yet, but other people have...

17. And you realize it's only noon, with half the day still in front of you...

Equilibrium

I realized this week that I am just simply exhausted. Not tired, sleepy as much as just bone weary. I guess in liking my new job and being soooo relieved to have the new job, I sort of forgot how exhausting change is. It's hitting me pretty hard this week. It doesn't help that it's a busy time of the year and that I still haven't learned to say "no."

All in all, life is good. I am very blessed and happy and yet totally exhausted. I just feel like my equilibrium is off... which exhausts me further. I've had stuff going every night this week, really the last 2 weeks... much of which has been great, but still busy. Tonight is my night at home with just the dogs... it's good. Introverts like me should remember to schedule in more time like this. Especially since I'm not only home hanging with my bitches, but I'm also cleaning out and reorganizing the pantry- so at least one part of my life can be under control.

Stay tuned on those work stories... I've got a couple written, but I'm still trying to come up with good code names for my coworkers (lest my world get smaller and they somehow stumble across my blog).