{Love from Littles} = Worth Being Late

Tonight I dashed out of work to get a 20 minute workout in (some circuit weights today), and then dashed to the bus to get there with few minutes to spare.

When I got home I threw some ground turkey with Mrs. Dash in the microwave for chili. (Not sure why I picked chili for dinner, but I had gone grocery shopping the day before and that's what sounded good when I was planning some menus.)

Anyway, while the meat was browning I jumped in the shower and before drying my hair I mixed up the chili. While the chili was simmering I dried my hair and finished getting ready. With no time to actually eat the chili, I tested it and turned off the burner before heading out to church.

Whew! I was a few minutes late to church, but I think it was worth it. As I walked in the door, I saw my foster-nephew, E, and one of his choir leaders walking down the hall from the bathroom. I was greeted with "Hi, Bekah!" in his cute-for-now-no-consonants.

I greeted him back, "Hi, E-!" and turned to go toward the auditorium. E and his leader kept on going to their classroom, but then I heard, "Hey!" So I turned around and E said, "Hey...[pause, pause]...I love you!" And before I could get out a reply, he repeated himself, "I love you!" Of course I said, "I love you!" back, and I think he said it one more time.

What a kid! It was cute to see him scrambling for something to say to me and extra cute that his go-to phrase was "I love you!"

By the way, my freezer is full of chili now. Guess I'm set for another 6 months before I need to make it again :)

Jess posted this pic on fb today - E(4), F(1), V(2)

{The Rest of the Week}

Yes, the Busy Week Continues…

Ahhhh, Wednesday...a day full of work and meetings, and, oh yes, the Intern's first day! In between the work pile and the meetings I was teaching the intern how to scan. Since it’s not rocket science, the intern seemed to catch on fairly quickly and even seem to master the naming and filing of the scans (we have an extensive filing tree)!

For the scanning project there are only 10 full file drawers left of old files to scan. I’ve been working on the scanning since I started – 4 years ago! Obviously it’s not a project I’ve worked on every day, but for at least 2 of the years I made serious effort to scan an average of 3 files per week.

At the beginning of 2010 I had thought that another staff member was supposed to be helping me so I had hope that we would be done by fall that year. Nope, it didn’t happen. That staff person never made time in their week to do any scanning. Not even a little. I’m a team player and was very discouraged that fall when we still weren’t done with the project. It was around that time that my boss got the idea for his daughter to help with scanning. Strike two – between her school work, job at Target and some problems with her jaw (TMJ), and the fact that scanning is boring, she didn’t last but a few times in the office.

Continuing with the adventure that was this week...

On Thursday, the Intern's second day, I found a random task for him to do – stick labels on file folders that we are reusing – while I worked through my morning routine and prioritized my tasks for the day. He then hit the ground running with scanning. I felt kind of bad because I didn’t pay much attention to him that day. Since the first part of the week had been so not normal, I had a lot of things to catch up on and he also seemed like he had a good handle on things. I would check on him through out the day but he’s a quiet one and didn’t have much to say! Hope he comes back next week!

Finally Friday. Friday my boss was back. He’d been gone all week (which is one reason I didn’t think I would be that busy at work – boy, was I wrong!) to Texas with his wife and daughter. His daughter was getting treatment at a chiropractor who specializes in TMJ. They’ve been working on this problem for a long time and none of the treatments have worked so far.

The number of green folders (business to process) that were on my desk on Friday were more than I had seen in quite sometime. I guess all week I had been adding them to my boss’s inbox not thinking that I would see them all back on my desk the same day he got back! Plus he had more for me! On top of that I had left messages for a couple of clients about rescheduling appointments and they had to call me when I wasn’t at my desk which meant I had to call them back. Not being a phone-lover, the tasks for phone calls always seem to stack up and then I’m frantically trying to get them done before I leave at the end of the day.

I had every intention of leaving work on Friday at 4 (or earlier if we were allowed as sometimes is before a holiday) but leaving the phone calls to the end and not factoring in that they would want to discuss more than just the calendar, I ended up scrambling to get out the door by 4:05. In all reality I could have been there another two hours finishing up stuff from the week, but it was a holiday weekend! And I had evening plans!

I made it home in time to change and turn around and head back downtown with Lindsay. Me, Lindsay, her mom Cheryl, and Cheryl’s friend Shirley were meeting downtown for dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory and then hitting rush line at the GUTHRIE to get tickets for Arsenic and Old Lace.

Dinner was great! Lindsay and I got there first and ordered. Since were ordering for all and all sharing what we ordered, we chose three entrees that OSF listed as their SPECIALTIES: chicken marsala, lasagna, and a garlic mizithra spaghetti. Each entrée came with bread, salad or soup, tea or coffee, and a dish of ice cream. Everything was delicious! We had a little left over but we were all so pleasantly filled that we didn’t even want to take it with us.

We walked a few blocks to the Guthrie and got in line for rush tickets. Our wait was only about ½ hour, I think, and then we purchased good seats for about $25 which is about ½ price! Not bad, not bad at all!

The set was awesome! The stage had seating on 3 sides. The costumes were believable. The actors were excellent: Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha were a good pair of entertainers for sure. Mortimer was spot on. Teddy was Teddy. Elaine was delightful. The police were funny! Jonathan was scary. Dr. Einstein was quirky. Mr. Witherspoon is dead, or is he? If you don’t know who I’m talking about, well, you’re just gonna have to see that play!

Here are a few pics from the evening:

Oh, and I'll leave you with this short clip I found of the play - enjoy!

happenings

While last week was birthday week and it may have seemed busy, this week is ACTUALLY busy!  :)

My week started off with a 2-day Administrators Conference on Monday. First I went to work like normal, and on my way remembered about the conference. Yuck! It was going to be a long day! Two good things ran through my mind: 1) my boss was out of town, so work should be “lighter” and 2) the intern that was scheduled to start today had bailed so I wouldn’t have to try to be two places at once!

Got to work and dove into the work that Monday always brings – the conference didn’t start until 11 and was held at work in our 4^th floor conference room. I got a good handle on things and headed to the conference with two of my co-workers (one had come from North Dakota—or “No-Dak” as someone kept saying - never heard that before…).

The conference was put on by our “umbrella” company and the compliance team and they started it out with sub-sandwich lunches and some meet ‘n greet time. Then with out much ado they started the first session a PowerPoint of notes from all the staffer’s bosses about their staff person who was attending the conference. It was sweet. My side comment when I realized what was being projected was that I hadn’t intercepted the email nor was I asked to draft anything so who knows what was going to be said! Since my boss had four staff present, he didn’t actually say anything specific, but made more of a general comment about how his staff CARES for people, blah, blah, blah – it really was nice :)

After the initial welcome and lunch we divided into three groups (there were about 40 present) and went to 3 sessions over the next 4 hours. Well, we were supposed to go to 3… Lynette* and I went together to the first two and then ditched the last one because Sabrina* had gone to it while we were in the other sessions and gave us the 4-1-1: “Don’t go!” So we didn’t! We went back to our desks and worked until about 5.

Lynnette* and I did get some benefit out of the first sessions we went to but the session we missed was a little basic. Since she has been in the industry for 25 years or so and I’ve been doing it for four years, to us ol’ vets we decided to skip the basics. ;) Since the conference had never been done before I think the coordinators felt they needed to start at the beginning and also I think there were quite a few newbies in the group.

The first day ended with a dinner at Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse which happened to be two doors down from our building and next to the Millenium hotel. There's not much to say about the dinner except that the fried rice was OUT OF THIS WORLD. So. Good. You haven't had fried rice until you've had Ichiban's. Trust me. If you visit Mpls, do go there and have at least one person order the fried rice - you won't regret it!! So. Good. Yum!! :)

This is a picture of us at Ichiban:

Day two of the conference again started out with work for about an hour and then the first session began at 9 o’clock with breakfast and a presentation/spoof on office etiquette. The presenter used exaggerated pics of the compliance team in action doing the things she was saying not to do (talking on your cell phone with your feet up on your desk, etc.). Thankfully the session was short.

We then went to Round Table Discussions about who to call for what and then what works and what doesn't. There’s not a lot to say about these session's content because they were short, but we did learn a few nuggets that will help us do our job better.

The end of the conference was a pizza lunch and drawings. My co-worker won a door-prize so that was good!

One of fun things about the conference was that in the second session on day one I met a person who I had seen occasionally but had never met. I found out she worked for an advisor group that had been in our building but they had moved their offices to Maple Grove. Also, my co-worker’s husband who is a Lutheran minister had done the wedding ceremony for this girl and her husband.

The session where I met Ellen was not that in depth so we were able to chat about our jobs a little (we also got shushed by the presenter once!). Then at the second day breakfast session we sat next to each other and chatted some more. I really enjoyed getting to know her and am kind of bummed that she doesn’t work in our building any more – now that I know her!

The conference ended and Lynnette* and I headed back to our desks for more work, but later attended a building meeting to introduce a new phone system. They presented four phone options and then said you didn’t have to have a phone base because the system was actually software you use on your computer. They also indicated that we would be getting the new system in June. I’m kind of glad for this because we knew there would be a new system for our new location but it will be good to learn it before we actually move.

There was one more meeting for me that day but the phone system meeting ran long so I missed that meeting. When I got back to our office area I checked in with my boss and filled him in on the phone system. Sounds like we might try to get by without actual phones and just use the computer. That will be weird, I think, but the software has some pretty cool features so I’m game!

Tuesday ended with dinner at Jen's and hanging out with Jen, Morgen, Carsten, & Ethan. We were able to Skype with Dad for a little bit too! I brought over my goodie bag from the conference and handed it all out to the kiddos. They really enjoyed the glow-bracelets, post-it notes, highlighter and water bottle! In fact, I even got a post-it note thank you note written in cursive before I left: “tank you for the lit up braslis” read as, “Thank you for the light up bracelets.” Love it!

The week’s events didn’t end here! Stay tuned!

*names changed to protect the innocent

are you "holidazed"?

Feeling a little dazed from all your holiday activities? Try some of these tips for the holidays and I think you'll have a more memorable end to your year.

7 Holiday Tips

1.   Get a head-start on gifts. I always try to shop throughout the year, and some years I do better than others. But having gifts purchased ahead of time (shopping online is great for this, too) enables me to wander through stores and enjoy the hustle and bustle without getting trampled by it. Or I can avoid the stores altogether. Ahhh.

2.   Set up a special calendar for the month of December. This is especially helpful for the next couple of weeks. I consolidate all of my party invites and activities (not forgetting the Evites, mandatory office parties and word-of-mouth stuff) and put them on one calendar so I can plot what I can fit in and what I can't. I also schedule things like baking, shopping, trips to the post office and other unexpected time-thieves.

3.   Take one commitment at a time. The last thing I want is to enter 2011 not remembering what I did at the end of 2010. When I sit down with a friend for coffee, I will look her in the eye and pay attention to what she's saying. When I open gifts with my family, I will be there and enjoy their reactions. When I attend a Christmas service, I will belt out every carol and reflect on the message.

4.   Ditch my iPhone. This is tied to number three. Christmas is not the time to have divided attention, so I will leave my phone off or unattended whenever possible. I don't need to check e-mail constantly, nor do I need to keep tabs on every friend's vacation via texting.

5.   Spend a bit of time each evening in front of my tree. There's a reason I bought that thing and labored to set it up in the stand, decorate it and water it every day. Just winding down each evening in my dark living room with only the light of the tree often prompts me to spend some necessary time in prayer and reflection.

6.   Keep an advent calendar. This is a fun, "anchoring" thing for me to do. It reminds me of my childhood, and provides a little glimpse of the anticipation of advent as I wait to open a door each morning and see the Christmas story unfold.       

7.   Plan meaningful conversations. Throughout the season, I try to say something encouraging or "real" to as many people as possible. We exchange any number of pleasantries at Christmas, but I want people to know that I'm interested in them. And some folks I only see at Christmas. So I use the time to ask them about their year, open a spiritual conversation or tell them how much they mean to me. It's an exercise in intentionality that has never disappointed.

Tips taken from the Boundless Webzine Editor.

busy month

Yeah! it's finally November!! (November 2nd, to be exact. Did you vote?!!!) October was such a busy month with an event or two or three every weekend!

Oct 2 - Sunday dinner at new friends from church

Oct 9/10 - Client event for work at Chanhassen Dinner Theater (missed a Deo Cantamus Rehearsal); attended my nephew's last Sunday afternoon soccer game

Oct 15/16 - attended (free) play @ PAC in Burnsville with Lindsay; Deo Cantamus Rehearsal

Oct 22/23/24 - two Deo Cantamus Rehearsals and the Concert; work reception desk at church during SS and help in nursery for pm service

You can listen to 6 songs from our concert here: http://www.youtube.com/user/DeoCantamus. The world premier of Josh Bauder's Psalm 149 was especially well received.

Oct 29/30/31 - entertained my niece overnight - watch movies, clean out my car and did some shopping; celebrated my sister's 37th birthday; attended (free) play @ Theater in the Round with Lindsay, again!

...and that was just the weekends!

Oh, yes, work has been super busy too! It seems like in the fall (right after Labor Day to be precise) everyone decides to do the business that was recommended to them over the past 6+ months. Which means lots of processing or form re-generating because the original paperwork is outdated...

One thing I was looking forward to at work was the tour of our new building! We aren't moving until Fall 2011, but we got to tour the new facilities a few weeks ago. Here's a link to the buildings' website: http://701executivesuites.com/facilities.html and a collage of views from pics I took on the 15th floor:

I've been wanting to make my plans for Thanksgiving, but just wanted to get through October! Now that I've written it out here and review the pics from this month, it doesn't seem like that much, then again, maybe it does.

So, what are your Thanksgiving plans?!