I'm So Over These Words

If I never hear the words...

• content marketing
• promotion
• increase our database
• align our promotions
• markdown
• infographic
• push-to-pull strategy
• media guide
• editorial calendar
• brand strategy
• reach
• measurement/statistics
• analytics
• digital marketing
• integrated strategy
• social advertising
• budget
• merchandising
• thought-leaders
• influencer marketing
• growth

...again, it would BE TOO SOON.

I wish one of these days I could get myself a job that has nothing to do with those things. Something like:

• Ticket-taker/docent at a museum or botanical garden
• Cashier at Natural Body (a local massage/spa store)
• After School Supervisor
• Education Coordinator/Assistant at a church
• Registration Coordinator at a retreat center
• Mobile plant tender!!
• Volunteer coordinator for a non-profit

These are jobs that I think would not make my head hurt. I'm looking over at the green, green grass and knowing it isn't so green after you get there, but still wishing, at least for today. Too many dumb words that I've come to hate in my current job.

In the House, On my Feet

My back hurts this morning, and I figured out why while driving to work. I piddled around the house all weekend, doing Not Much Really, just things like decorating bookshelves, vacuuming hard-core, and laundry/ironing.... in bare feet. DUMB. Old ladies must wear supportive shoes, Self, even in the house! Otherwise backs will hurt.

I had a pretty nice weekend, though, in the house on my feet. I had bought some bookshelves for our living room, so I dusted them and put pretty things on them! Not too many. Trying to keep it classy. ;) Of course by the end of the weekend I noticed a plastic bucket with Dory on it had made its way onto a bottom shelf. That room gets a lot of toy action even though it's the "formal-ish" living room. I guess growing up, Jill and I used our parents' formal living room as a gymnasium. I don't feel like we left toys all over it, though. 

Kate spent the night with a friend Friday, and was picked up right after school by them, so Alex and Shawn and I enjoyed some quality time. We let him watch the first episode of Stranger Things, since Shawn and I loved it so much 3 weeks ago. I think Alex liked it, but didn't have the immediate '80s connection like we'd had, obviously. Still, it was fun letting him be a big kid (lots of language in that show, I hadn't realized!)... and he basically put himself to bed afterwards, around 10:30. Since Kate was gone, I also got to play a card game with Alex on Saturday. Not regular cards, but one of The Kids' games, with Attack points and Health points and Life points and oh my goodness, it was a lot to keep up with! It was an easy version of this type of game -- I'm not sure I could handle anything harder!

Saturday morning we met with a new piano teacher. She is going to be just great; I'm setting high expectations. She was delightful to talk with, so kind to Alex and I can tell, an excellent teacher. I bet I'm more excited than he is. I might have mentioned I would like if both my kiddos loved music, and I think the seed is IN THERE, it just needs some really good tending. I think this lady is the one to do it. I'm also starting to consider when we should get Kate into piano. Maybe next year. Her musical training happens in the church choir currently, but the excellent director is leaving. :( I don't know who will take his place. Watching the situation to see what happens next.

And Kate survived her 2 weeks of good behavior, and got her ears pierced yesterday! WOO-HOO! I was worried she'd chicken out, but she didn't. She cried, yes, which I knew would happen.... but in the end we got it done. She chose a pretty little purple birthstone and looks So Grown Up I can hardly believe it. This morning we French braided her hair so the newly acquired sparkle was most visible. :) 

This week's menu:
S - The Pepperocini Beef recipe that was so hot online 2 years ago. Finally tried it. I loved it, Alex tolerated it, Shawn thought it was okay I think, and Kate spit it out (too spicy). It WAS more spicy than I expected. Might or might not make it again. Also had veggies and ranch, and deviled eggs.
M - Dirty Rice with ground beef. Getting all our iron in, early in the week!
T - Tuna Casserole. Haven't made that in a while and everyone likes it.
W - Chicken Parmesan with garlic bread and salad. Yum.
TH - Fish Sticks and Popcorn Shrimp, I believe. My choir rehearsals begin again (mixed feelings), so Thursday has to be quick prep.
F - It's the first night of a 3-day weekend so we'll see! Might have to order pizza to celebrate. ;)

Don't Wanna

Work.... nope.

Not feeling it.

This week's dinners? Why, sure!

S - Leftovers bonanza. Actually a pasta bonanza, because that's what the leftovers happened to be. But no one complained (shockingly), and there's now room in the fridge.
M - Hamburger sliders baked in the oven. Easy and yummy. Probably with tater tots.
T -Smoked Sausage, mac-cheese and broccoli
W - Chicken, potatoes and green beans. Pinterest For The Win.
TH - Pasta with meat-ah-balls.
FR - Kate's going to a sleepover so we'll wing it (yay for winging it!)

[Alright, fine... I did some work in another Tab while I was writing this. I guess I still have some work ethic, and a desire to knock the quick, easy things off my looming to-do list... aren't Mondays just the worst?]

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We had a school event last Friday night, an annual picnic/cookout that we've attended all 8 years we've been there. It was a good time, despite the sprinkling of rain going on throughout the evening. We came home with three dirty kids, I'll tell you that (one was a friend), but the burgers were good (and free), and there were lots of side dishes. You know I love the side dishes.

We mostly chatted with a couple we met at the very first one of these picnics, and with a family who's new to the school. I was happy to be able to help welcome the new family, since they have kids in both Alex's and Kate's homerooms. And the long-time friends are definitely some of my favorites; friends I know I could call on for help in time of trouble, or invite out for fun and expect an enthusiastic "yes." I'm so grateful. It's a wish that I wished long ago: to make friends.

But later in the weekend I caught myself thinking, all of this is temporary. One of these days, these friends will be part of the past, most likely. We'll move on to different high schools, our kids will make new friends, and, if I'm honest, my elementary and middle-school friends definitely aren't high on my list of "priority" friends anymore. My own parents DO keep up with parents of some  elementary school friends of mine, who lived across the street from us... but that's about it. Besides Facebook, of course. So that made me a little sad. The thoughts grew bigger, to, "Well, all of Life is temporary, actually...." and that made me feel really melancholy, mostly about these friends.


Unless, I guess, I dig deep into my faith and pray that I'll get to hang out with Ashley, Matt, Susan, Rick, Julie, Mike, Emily, John, Ellyn, Stephanie, Karen, Yvonne, and maybe newbies Wendy and Andy, in heaven. Not to mention all my other friends who, for now, aren't in my daily life but remain in my social media news feed. College friends, high school friends, work friends... and those of my kids whom I've yet to meet. Then we'll have a cookout for allllllll eternity. ;) It seems far away, of course. And it seems a little odd to think about, but perhaps it's something to hang some hope on.

Cheerful

Apparently expense reimbursement can only happen by Direct Deposit. And no one bothered to tell me this until today, so I am STILL not reimbursed the $380-something dollars they owe me for The Trip. Come ON, Company. This stuff is not that hard.

. . . . . . . .
I did not intend to start a blog post with negativity. It just happened. I mean, literally it just happened a few minutes ago, so I'm hot about it at the moment.

But most of all I am feeling SO, SO GOOD this morning. The children have been pleasant these past um, let me count... 22 and a half hours. 23 hours ago, maybe things were not so rosy, but no need to reminisce. ;) We're on the rosy side now, with high hopes to stay there firmly until two weeks from now, when a girl I know will have earned a very special privilege -- getting her ears pierced.

She's been adamantly against, in all the days leading up to yesterday morning. I would tease her every time we went into Claire's (which is often), saying, "Oooh, Kate, there's no one in the chair... I know you want to get your ears pierced today, right??" And it was always met with, "NO, no... doesn't it hurt?" and "Never! I am NOT doing that." But for some reason yesterday, she changed her mind.

She always announces things like this - big things or instances where I'm going to need to drive her somewhere - with, "Mommy. I have an IDEA." And she calls me to some corner where no one else will hear, or even SEE her ask me, and whispers. It's pretty cute (when I step back and take a minute to think about it... though sometimes in the moment, it's interruptive and I feel like it's a ploy, which it is).

SO, we're working on Maintaining Rosiness and Cheerfulness, through every schoolday morning and bedtime for 2 weeks, in order to earn this privilege. Habits are good to develop, especially if she's going to have to clean those ears and turn the earrings every night. (Oh, I just read the Claire's post-piercing instructions and they actually say to clean/turn them three times a day! Even better.) And this cheerfulness-at-certain-times-of-day THING is a habit she desperately needs to solidify. Perhaps it's hard transitioning back from the easy-breezy late-bedtime summer schedule. Perhaps.

Today was a good day.

I also feel pretty good because last Friday I asked for a raise and will probably get one. I'm terrible about doing that; it's long overdue. I've just gone along, la-la-la, accepting the piddly 1-2% yearly raises and being grateful for them -- being told that other departments weren't getting ANY raise or bonus, the past 2 or 3 years. But with significant changes to my role (before even telling me), it's time. And international travel? Ok, fine, but pay me accordingly. Anyway, I was told that my manager "absolutely" agrees with what I requested, and in fact she believes it was already added to our annual budget, so it's looking positive.

And finally, I walked this morning for 15 minutes before leaving for work. I'm trying to work this in to my morning routine. After Shawn and the kids leave, I put on my shoes and head out the door (thankfully the weather's allowing this. It should not be 80 degrees before 7:00 am, and finally it isn't. Bring on fall, though). Or, a couple of times I have done a "walking" video with Xfinity On Demand. It works, too. Whatever it takes to get moving. It's only fifiteen minutes but I know that's better than the zero minutes I've been doing for about 2 years. I really, really want to make it as "daily" a habit as possible. It does mean driving to work sweaty, but I have a 20-minute drive. It's long enough to cool down with the AC on high blast.

The kids are in school now full-time. I still have to schedule piano lessons and gymnastics, but we are Go for Launch and feeling good on a Monday.

Parenting-cation

Out of juice at 2:50 on a Friday afternoon. Can't bear the thought of opening up my Product Catalog Word doc. It would be false to pretend I have any good ideas for that project, anyway. There are only so many words -- only so many ways I can write/say the same thing over and over and make it feel new and fresh. I will try again on Monday, maybe. (Or after I let my fingers run here for a bit...)

We've had a really good week. It's such a gift to us, that Mom and Dad still want to host the kids for a week of Camp Grandmommy/Papa Joe. Jill asked me what were Shawn and I going to DO, with the kids gone a whole week?? So far the answer is: We're going to WATCH TV. Shows that WE want to watch. Ha, ha. First choice was the Netflix series "Stranger Things," and we both loved it. We watched 2 episodes a night. Lapped it up -- there were only 8 total. It's very sci-fi, very 80s, but also emotionally gratifying. (On the 80s topic, it reminded me of E.T., The Goonies, Tron, and A Wrinkle In Time, among plenty of other references.) One little character just tugged at my heartstrings. We hope they'll do a 2nd season.

We also watched Mockingjay Part 1, since we're behind on the Hunger Games movies. Excellent. And we've caught up on our Flipping Out recordings. What else? Oh, The EVENING NEWS, aren't we grown-up, and some politics (Libertarian Town Hall). It's a weird freedom, to have full HOURS of time we can fill up with media.

I've tried to do some reading, too. Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. It's excellent. The writing is unreal. I wish I could spin phrases like she does.

We ate out twice, I think, and plan to order Chinese tonight. (So we can watch something while we eat!!)

Oh, dear. All of a sudden I'm worried for us during retirement. That's something I think about regularly, actually -- when (if) we retire, what in the world are we going to do with ourselves? I guess I'll volunteer at the church or something. Help the choir director sort music. And we talk about how we'll take daily walks (...will we, really?). And sit on the porch. But what ELSE will we do, together? What are our common interests? (Um.) I suppose it'll work itself out, no need to panic. I do still have that 1,500 piece puzzle I bought the kids a year ago. ;)

Some pretty deep thoughts, here. School starts Monday/Wednesday.