Journey & Adventure

For those that have been following this blog for awhile, you know that I have a terrible history for staying at one job for a long period of time. Other than my favorite boss, whom I stayed with for 12 years and where I’d still be if it wasn’t for a non-solicitation clause in his employment agreement that kicked in after a corporate take-over, I’ve never lasted in a job position for more than 3 years. Yep, since 2000, I’ve worked for 6 different employers. I have varying reasons for why I left and moved on – everything from earning more money, needing more challenges, stupid co-workers, unbearable bosses, to extreme boredom and no work. The list goes on. I’m hopeless in the sense that I can’t seem to find my career groove. I’ll toot my own horn and say that I’m really good at what I do, but tend to get bored, easily if not engaged. I liked to be challenged, but not micro-managed. I like the freedom to make decisions on my own, but also like knowing that if I need guidance o...

I love bright colors. I like being welcomed by the feeling of warmth and cheerfulness when I enter a room. As much as the houses in Architectural Digest are stunning to look at, I don’t think they are meant to be lived in – at least not by me. I understand that some of the first rules when selling a house is to depersonalize it, remove clutter and keep wall colors neutral. This allows people to see beyond the knick-knacks and color on the walls and picture what their stuff could look like within the rooms. Here’s my dilemma – in my opinion, neutral colors can be too sterile, impersonal and boring. I’m not saying I intend on keeping the orange walls in The Boy’s bathroom or the fire engine red paint in his bedroom, but I need to find a compromise that will work for us until we sell the house, but I would like to do it now while J is still willing to have me as his “boss”. We are 98% done the spare room and have finished painting it and in case you’re wondering about the color, we ...

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are my own and are based solely on my life experiences. I will say that I’ve worked with some fantastic women, but recently my bad experiences have outweighed the good. Can I just say how much I dislike working with women? Yes, I realize I am one; however I’m more of a “tom boy” type of gal. For the most part, I have great working relationships with my male co-workers. The women – not so much. They are an entirely different story. Don’t get me wrong, I can tolerate them, I just don’t enjoy interacting with them. My male co-workers for the most part, are minimalistic. You ladies out there might disagree but I find that they don’t need as much babysitting. I can ask them to provide me with information and they don’t whine about it. Guys get shit done. My female co-workers will do EVERYTHING in their power to avoid taking responsibility for anything. They will not simply respond to an e-mail request. Nooo, they insist of calling to “discuss ...

I can’t believe we are already in the last week of July.   Eeeks!   Summer is passing me by.   How has that happened?   Where did it go and how can I get it back?   Seriously, I’m freaking out about this one.   The weather has been on a “cool” side and not in a “wow that’s awesome” kind of cool.   More like cold, put on socks kinda cold…brrr…   This summer has been a summer of “procedures”, with visits to Drs., Dentists and Specialists.    First, I had a filling, then a root canal, then another filling to fix the crown where the hole was made from the root canal.   Then there were miscellaneous Doctor’s appointments, blood tests or as I like to call them “tune-ups”.   Then, I had a biopsy on a spot that I’ve had above my left eyebrow for at least a year and that hasn’t seemed to heal and just last Friday, a follow-up appointment for the results.   Turns out, I have basal-cell carcinoma – a form of skin cance...

Do you ever have that creeping feeling of impending doom, butterflies in your stomach for no reason, or that something’s just not quite right in the Universe, or maybe the stars aren’t quite aligned? I usually feel at peace with myself, but not lately. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve felt “off”. I can’t pinpoint where exactly these feelings are coming from, but I know that something’s amiss. I just can’t seem to relax. I almost feel like I’ve forgotten something, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what that something might be. Work has been busy as usual, but not enough to make me feel like this. Home life is fine – not busy there either. Life is less stressful since J has been home taking care of the daily chores and our to-do list is slowly shrinking, so it’s not that nagging at me. I’m not sure what it might be, but one thing’s for sure…I don’t like it.  Does anyone know if diet can make you feel anxious? I haven’t been eating the best – too many summe...

Nope, I'm not homeless yet, but this little girl is. She stumbled into our front yard last evening.  We had just been on the front porch saying goodbye to J's parents when we hear a "mew, mew". We turn to see the source of the noise and there she was...looking for love, attention, food and water. My conscience would not let me leave her outside.  We live on a busy highway and have lost a few "strays" that we have tried to keep as outdoor cats.  So needless to say, she is living in my laundry room at the moment.  Although we have one other cat, I don't want another one.  The one we have is The Boy's and although he started out with good intentions, J and I have ended up being the cat's primary caregiver.  Nope not interested.  I'll endeavour to find a home for it, but I'm not very hopeful - cats and kittens are everywhere and shelters are overrun this time of year.  In the meantime, I...

Well, it’s been almost 3 weeks since the beginning of my poison ivy, oak or sumac outbreak and the itching is finally starting to subside. I only have a few remaining itchy spots – mostly on my neck and hairline. That was without a doubt, the worst experience of my life.  It certainly was not painful, but extremely exhausting both mentally and physically. I honestly thought I was going to lose my mind (more so than usual).   Approximately 1 month ago J and his employers came to a mutual decision to “part ways”. I guess that’s a nice way of saying he is now unemployed. Believe me – we are both extremely happy with this decision. I’m happy because I have a built-in maid, cook and contractor. J’s happy because he is no longer working for morons (unless I count of course). The house to-do list is dwindling and we have come to the realization that if it weren’t for him being able to work away on all the projects now, we would never be ready to sell the house and vacate the...