Saran Wrap

Our house is *almost* ready for the holidays. We have trimmed the tree, put up lights, and started playing the classic christmas music. Another tradition we had adopted in the past three years is one that doesn't really have anything to do with the birth of Jesus...but the temperature of our drafty rental home.

We wrap our windows in saran wrap.

By 'we', I mean Jake. By saran wrap, I mean...those special plastic window kits you buy at the hardware store...and I'm pretty sure it's saran wrap. I resist this tradition every year, partly because it is so humbling and makes me feel like we don't live in a very nice place. I know that's not true, I love the house we have rented, it's just older and the windows are about 50 years old...so drafty cold air tends to find it's way into our home a little easier.

I just hate the way it looks when I pull up to the house at night and my car headlights bounce off the saran wrap in the window. I know it's vain, but in reality, I do appreciate the added warmth it brings to our house during the cold winter months.

Especially since I am home all day, and sit right next to a window. No need to freeze my buns off in the home office.

Jake is one of the most handy, smart, diligent, disciplined, thoughtful people I know. (Good thing I married him!). It takes hours of taping and blow drying the saran wrap to the windows each year, and I know he's doing it for us, to keep us just a little warmer. And I am so thankful that his practical side more often than not, wins out over my vain side.

Now for some hot cocoa....

Some day, maybe we'll have nice new windows like this...wherever we live!

Motivation

After a four day holiday for Thanksgiving, and recovering from a nasty 24 hour stomach flu on Sunday, I'm dragging a bit this week. I even counted the number of possible werk days remaining until we *might* start the drive home to MN for Christmas break. I'm feeling stuck in that werk slump between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, where there is so much to do, but I just want to be curled up in flannel pj's, gathered around the Christmas tree with my family, my pup, and some hot cocoa.

I'm looking for some motivation, some concentration, an urgency to push through this holiday season slump and get a lot accomplished in the next three weeks. I've got quite a few projects, I just need to dive in and get them kicked off. I also need to get over my doubt that anyone wants to start new projects at werk right now...

Before the thermostat drops from 60 to 20 degrees tomorrow, I might just need to get my buns outside for some fresh rocky mountain air and some vitamin D. Maybe that will push me through this slump-bump. Bleh.

I am not a gym person.

A few months ago I posted about needing to be more active, joining the gym, going during the middle of the day 'because I could', blah blah blah. Well, the.home.werker has not been to the gym since April, and it was high time to put a stop to that madness. After waiting on hold for ten minutes, I was able to speak to someone about cancelling my gym membership...at which time she went on a 5 minute rant about putting my membership 'on hold' for up to 12 months for only $9.99/month, saving me my activation fees for whenever I wanted to rejoin...seriously? I know their job is to keep their customers and it's all in the upsell, but why would I pay $9.99 for a service I didn't use when I was paying $34.99 a month for it?? Come on people.

My afternoon power walks with Lexi are much more enjoyable than logging hours at the gym, and with Colorado weather being consistently gorgeous most of the year, it just felt like a waste to spend time exercising indoors...when I could be outside exercising both myself and my dog.

Why did I go from April until November with no visits to the gym, while paying my $34.99/month? Well, on the off chance my all-or-nothing personality decided one day to become a gym rat, I hated to remove the option from my exercise choices. This is the second gym membership I have done this with, so I think it's safe to say, I am not a gym person. Maybe if we ever move back to MN some day I could be, during those long winter months.

But then again, I'd rather get an elliptical or treadmill and throw it in an inconspicuous place and get my werk.out in at home. Go figure;).

You don't get views like this at the gym!

Thankful

"It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy."

I love the meaning of this quote, simply because it is so true. There is a song from from my childhood that includes the lines "Count your blessings, count them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done!". This year, I have many blessings to count, and here's a small list of them I thought I'd share!

1. A stable and well paying job, that is also fulfilling. I pinch myself sometimes when I think about where I'm at in my career and how fun it has been to get here!
2. A job that gives me the flexibility to werk from home. I have a much clearer focus in my home office environment, and make powerful use of my time at the.land.of.cubicles when I get there a few times each month.
3. My office companion, Lexi. I am thankful she's braved her fear of my office and keeps me company most days. It would be pretty lonely without her.
4. Paid time off! Tomorrow and Friday will be a blast with family, friends, and yummy food. Lots to look forward to, especially as we get the house ready for Christmas.
5. Skype dates with my MN family...I love sneaking them into my days, it makes the distance between seem so much shorter! I can't wait to snuggle and play with my nephews this Christmas!

Short Week!

That's right, three short days and we've got the start of the holiday season! Really, it's only two and a half days to go...considering it's already lunch time here at the home office.

Short weeks are typically long, because you are squeezing five days of werk into three...but so far, my week is looking very manageable...something for which I am thankful!

Back to IT!

I admit, I am really distracted these days. My apologies for the irratic blog posting I have been doing. Between my newest addiction: Pinterest, the upcoming holidays, having good friends in town, and trips to and from the.land.of.cubicles...life has been full!

Today I am overly indulging in Pandora and a lovely little station of Christmas carols I have crafted for myself. I am sucker for the traditional Christmas hymns sung by Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and a bunch of new artists I am discovering thanks to Pandora. Grandma got run over by a reindeer and any sort of boy band Christmas album simply is NOT on my list of favorites.

I love the songs that have that rock solid, classic, traditional warmth and glow to them. O Holy Night, Silent Night, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, and the like are what remind me of the Christmas story and the awesome memories I am blessed to have from growing up on 421 Merion Drive.

Every Friday after Thanksgiving we would pick out a tree, and the decorating could NOT begin until Perry Como and Amy Grant's Christmas CD's were loaded into the sound system. Or until each kid had their bag of ornaments that mom and dad had given to us over the years...or we had made in Sunday school...or in my case, in the basement with my hot glue gun, sequins, and used foil from the cheese steak dinner we just consumed. (It's a BEAUT, I'll tell ya! :) )

Ok, enough distractions for one day, but don't get all scroogy on me and tell me it's too early to be listening to Christmas music. Thanksgiving is next week and we all know Thanksgiving is basically the gateway to Christmas...so, Merry Tuesday, friends!

Missed Connection

So I'm a little sad about being the.home.werker today, just a little.

I opened an email from the Front Desk at the.land.of.cubicles, and they were letting me know I had a visitor in the front lobby...

Unfortunately, today is one of many days I am not at the.land.of.cubicles, and I didn't realize I would have a visitor...especially a visitor from my home town in PA! I haven't been back to my home town since August of 2008, so it's a rare treat when my path crosses with people from my growing up years. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my friend is flying in and out of Denver, and perhaps I'll get to grab a cup of coffee with him on his way to the airport.

State Street in my home town.

Things I like

As I enter into Month 11 of being the.home.werker, I am reminded not to take certain things for granted.

For instance, Jake had his clinicals delayed a week, so I get to have some extra time with him this week. Not that we actually sit around and hang out together all day, but occasionally passing in the kitchen, on the way to the bathroom, or taking random breaks during the day to visit him in his office...these are all little things I know I love, and I know I miss him when he's not around. Even if we're both in our respective offices with the doors closed, it's just nice to know he's there.

Another item to continue to appreciate, one that I'm not always proud of but I continue to enjoy: I'm still in my PJ's. Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon I change into my sweats to take Lexi for a walk, and then it's back into the PJ's for bedtime later at night.

I haven't used tupperware or packed a lunch in ten months! That's.just.awesome.

We are heading into cold/flu season, and I don't have to cringe every time I hear a co.werker sneeze or sniffle. Germs? No thank you.

The mute button on my phone. It still werks, as far as I know, and between letting Lexi in and out mutliple times during one conference call, my own sneezes and sniffles, and driving around...this mute button is a modern miracle not to be taken for granted.

Let's not forget the ability to keep laundry moving, too!

Daylight Savings Time

We fell back an hour yesterday, and now I am sitting here at three in the afternoon watching the shadows grow long on the backyard. Usually, at the end of my day, I drive to a local park and take Lexi for a nice 2 mile power walk. I can typically get back in time to get dinner on the table before the sun sets. That was before we 'fell back an hour'.

Now I am thinking if I want to soak up any vitamin D, I might need to rearrange my walk schedule a bit. I've got MAYBE two hours of sunlight to go in my Monday afternoon and no meetings left...so perhaps it's high time I tie up those sneakers and hit the pavement with Lexi girl. Email will always be waiting for me when I get back!

At least I am not trapped in a cubicle or conference room during the sunny hours of the day anymore, I don't have to live like a vampire this winter and I'll do my best not to!

I confess...

During my meetings at the land.of.cubicles this week, I may or may not have been found flipping through pictures of Lexi and Jake on my phone. I miss them. Who wouldn't??

2 hour Delay

It's 5:34 am, do you know where your children are?
Just kidding, it's 5:34 AM, and you just got a super loud text letting you know that due to snow, you don't have to roll out of your hotel room until 10am today....due to the 'blizzard' that just blew into Colorado Springs. (i.e., in Colorado Springs, this means 2-3 inches of snow + wind + REFUSAL to REMOVE SNOW FROM THE ROADS).

Having lived in the Springs for 2 and half years before moving to Denver, I can honestly say, Colorado Springs has absolutely no plan/skill/resources for plowing/snow removal...ever. It snowed? Oh, you should all stay home. Because all major roadways (forget neighborhood streets) will be impassible until the snow melts.

I don't mind the extra two hours of sleep, and I was especially thankful I was able to grab a hotel room last night and avoided a dicey drive down from Denver this morning. But seriously, Colorado Springs?

Don't worry, I grabbed this picture from someone else...I was definitely not snapping pictures while driving!