Stuff….and stuff

It’s been a while…hello world!

Neil’s CharlotteFive.com project has taken off like gangbusters and has been fun to help out with (I do some minor editing/proof-reading for him from time to time). And as proof of that, a local publication recently stole some of his work..maybe borrowed is a better term? While on the surface hearing about it made me angry, I am also proud.  It means his work is doing what he wants it to do…get folks reading his site and promoting the local talent. So YAY for that! (And BOO for lazy media “professionals”.)

I need to get out and work on my photography more. I’ve hauled my camera with me on my business trips, but weather and work project deadlines have kept me pretty much chained to my hotel rooms in the evenings. I am hoping after this next week some of that will let up. I will be in some lovely areas of PA at the end of the month and hope to have time to get some photos of some of the historic areas of the towns I will be visiting.

Work has been crazier than ever – working late nights and weekends…the industry has been turned on its head and we are all just trying to keep up. Things should  settle back to a dull roar here in the next week or two for a little while anyway. Of course, that is right when my CRCM prep classes start, so really there won’t be much break in the hours dedicated to the job. The exam is in April 2012. If I pass I will officially be a “Certified Risk and Compliance Manager”. It does not mean I will be a manager (thank goodness – managing people is not my cup of tea), but the designation should help with future employment and pay. I hope.

Last night we took Moo out to the USNWC to see our friends, Overmountain Men, play. It was the first time I’ve actually heard them play and loved it! Moo was incredibly well-behaved – there were just two snarly/growly incidents when dogs got too “close”. She didn’t bark at any people which was the biggest relief. I think I will keep taking her whenever we can make it out there…I hope this sort of environment (largely unstructured, people and dogs having a nice time) will help her get over her fears or whatever it is that sets her off.

I think that’s about it for now…

(Another) New Blog

Heh. I started another blog. It is becoming something of an addiction, I think. The new one, is a showcase of some of my better photography. I even registered a domain for it! (I feel very nerdy…in a good way.) This one had originally been intended for that, but then got side-tracked with daily life. And that is OK…I like what it has become.

Here it is:  photochro.me

Several photo galleries are available via the page tabs at the top of the site. Posts are dedicated to new photoadventures – my layout plan is to include a short “blurb” about the trip or the subject matter or…whatever…and then a single photo followed by the gallery behind a cut to keep the home page from getting too out of control.

I’d appreciate any feedback, comments, suggestions as the entire site is still a work in progress (though, I think I’ve got most everything set up the way I want it now). My only significant outstanding project for it is to find a good lightbox viewer. The one I have installed is OK, but it needs to be updated to work properly with the latest WordPress build. Hopefully the creator will do that soon.

And I suppose it is about time for me to dust off my running blog and get back into that…both writing and the actual running. I dread it. I am back at square one. But there will be more about that after this weekend on Thirteen Miles.

Also, while I am pimping other blogs, you all should check out Neil’s new project: CharlotteFive  As he describes it: 1 Band, 1 Show, 5 Pictures, 5 Questions at a time. His goal is to showcase local artists and try to help promote the local Charlotte music scene. We’ve already met some darn cool people through this and it seems to be growing quickly! I look forward to seeing where it takes him (and me).

Mila & Caleb

My trip home was fantastic! And now I am in serious withdrawal…I miss the kids, I miss the weather, and I really miss my sister.

First, I’d like to officially welcome Mila to the world!

Organization & Wine

Bit by bit I’ve tackled organizing my house. Closets, cabinets, shelving – you name it, it I’ve addressed it. When I bought my house, all the closets had the standard 12″ deep wire shelving. While for a clothes closet that is usually alright, it is less than ideal for the pantry or linen or other storage closet. I have both a regular linen closet and a small pantry, but I also have an odd-ball storage closet in my living room area (right next to the coat closet). While I am very happy to have the extra storage space, I have never really seen a second closet like this before in a newer home and the shallow shelving in it has made it not all that useable.

Deep in the heart of Texas…

I love the Texas Hill Country.

This past week I got another chance to visit my aunt and uncle down there. This time the review I did was right in their area which was fabulous – I got to stay with them the entire time. I flew down on Saturday, so I also had some weekend/fun time with them. It is so rugged and yet peaceful out there. Hotter than blazes and I am hoping for rain for them (the area is at stage 2 drought conditions), but not humid and the evenings and mornings were very nice.

My dad still owns a lot down there…and I wouldn’t mind living there someday. Maybe.

Also, in even more exciting news, this week: my sister had her baby! This is baby number two – my niece was born on Thursday. Happy and healthy. I can’t wait to go home at the end of the month to meet her and see the rest of the family. She is quite adorable already!

In less happy news, I am so, so incredibly sad to hear that my friends’ dog was diagnosed with cancer this past week. I am hoping they get some good news about treatment options for him. My heart goes out to them all – I know I would be absolutely devastated if it were one of my own.

And last but not least – TGIF. It has been a long week. I am glad it is Friday and that the work-stuff is almost done for a few days.

June!

It isn’t quite June yet, but close enough.

I had an awesome weekend of sleeping in (as much as one can with two dogs and three cats who are on their own schedule), napping, and lounging around. I had the weekend to myself and really enjoyed the alone time. I got very little done around here, but I am OK with that. I needed the time to breathe. I feel like lately I have gone non-stop with work and other life stuff. Mostly I think stress has me feeling like that, rather than it actually being the case. Regardless of the reason, the lazy weekend has me feeling better.

A little less deep, a little less dark…

I finally booked my airline ticket to go home at the end of June. Thankfully, I had enough miles to cover the entire thing! That is such a huge relief, I can’t begin to express how much better I feel already. And it is nice to also know I get some benefit from being away from home all the time for work.

I am so excited! Giddy, actually. I can’t wait to meet my new niece, see my sister, and re-meet my nephew (who is now, by all reports, a little man!). It will also be good to see the rest of the family. I miss my sister terribly and hate that I am missing out on so much by living all the way across the country. If I could just figure out how to get them to move farther this way…

Into the deep, dark pit…

…of depression. (I wouldn’t really call it ‘despair’ – things aren’t that bad, yet. And I’d like to also caveat this with the fact that troubles are all relative…and in the big picture, I know my woes are nothing other than my pity-party. but in my personal world, they are relatively big.)

I need to vent. Rant. Rail. Whatever the correct term may be…but I need to get some of this out. I feel like I have plunged down into an ever-deepening pit and can’t seem to crawl my way back out.

Appropriate

The title of my blog…it is so appropriate these days.

My AC went out again. Second time in less than five years. Last time was just the motor starter thingy. This time its the entire compressor. It was also out of freon, but thankfully, it seems the leak is also part of the compressor problem and the system appears OK everywhere else. The guy said it looks like it got fried during one of the storms. Who knows. I guess I need to see if my insurance will cover it if that is the case. Thankfully it was nice and cool here last night and should to stay below 80 until they can come back to do the work on Monday.

The kicker is that there is still a small possibility that something else caused the compressor to fail, but no way to know that for sure until it replacement is done. Neato eh? So the whole deal is bordering between just replacing this part or the entire system.

I am really bummed today. (It’s been a bad week even before this…this is just the cherry on top of it all.)

Still waiting…

Though the lawn crew came and mowed, edged, and weeded, they still have not put down the pine needles that I requested and I still have not gotten an estimate on the other work I requested. It has been two weeks since the guy came out. Why am I putting up with this? Because as crazy and angry as it makes me, it is still easier than looking for a new crew to do the work. *sigh*

I have been sick this week – no idea what to even call it. Sort of a mono-type thing where I’ve been exhausted to the point of falling asleep in the middle of doing things and have had monstrous headaches and body aches. I slept most of yesterday. I feel slightly better today in that I don’t feel like I am going to give myself a concussion from my head hitting the desk while passing out asleep. I still have a monstrous headache and am really tired. It has made me extra crabby and irritable. Getting woken up by barking dogs after 10pm and having annoying alarms going off in the morning didn’t help with the grumpy-ness. And I’ve fought to get my work laptop booted up for the past two hours. It seems to finally be functioning.

This weekend I have a bunch of things to do:

• Moo to the vet: It is time (actually way past time) for her annual check-up and shots. She also needs some allergy medicine to help with her itchy ears. Spring has sprung around here.
• The Y: I am going to finally get myself over to the local Y to check it out. I might even be so adventurous as to join if it is a decent facility.
• US Whitewater Center: I need to get the pass my dad bought me activated and such. Thankfully the weather has been pretty much yucko since he was here so I have not missed out on anything over there.
• Doggy-sit: My neighbors are heading up to the mountains for the day so I get to have their pups come hang out at my house. It will be mayhem and madness around here, but they will all love it. If I can get any of them to hold still long enough I will try to get some photos.

Right now I need to get caught up on work-stuff. And I have all kinds of conference calls today. I am so glad I am not traveling next week…