Like a bat out of Hell

I'm back! I made my exit from the.land.of.cubicles like a bat out of hell this morning. I'm not a bat, and the.land.of.cubicles is not hell, but the expression seemed to fit as I drove 80mph north back to Denver. It was a great few days of meetings, and coffee-lunch-dinner discussions with some quality people. I even had a king sized bed all to myself for three nights, which is something my 6-month pregnant self thoroughly enjoyed!

During one of the presentations today, a SR. VP told a story about a girl in Thailand whose nickname was pronounced 'Meow'. Immediately, the scene from SuperTroopers came to mind, and every time he used her name, Meow, in the story, I couldn't keep a straight face. To make matters worse, SuperTroopers isn't exactly a wholesome family movie, so I knew relatively few co.werkers had seen it or would understand why I was laughing. Thankfully, my dear friend was there and caught on with me, and we had a good laugh about it during the break.

I am tempted to send this clip to the Sr. VP...but I never actually will. So here you go, enjoy!

Forced Prayer= Awkward

During my time at the land.of.cubicles this week, I've been able to connect with a lot of people and this morning I was able to attend our monthly chapel service. Normally during chapel, someone leads the group in guided prayer for sponsors, sponsored kids, and other things going on in the organization. This time, we were told to turn to the person next to us and ask how we could pray for them.

Trying to keep an open mind, I turned to the woman sitting next to me who I didn't know and we introduced ourselves. She immediately told me I could pray for her husband because he was unemployed. I asked her a little more about that and she told me he had just graduated from college and was looking for a job. Easy enough, of course that's something I could try to support her with through prayer...even though we'd never met before.

Then she asked me what she could pray for and I said "We're expecting our first baby, so prayer for energy and health for the rest of my pregnancy are really important."

She looked at me, and said, "Congrats...but really, other than generally, how can I pray for you?".
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I looked at her and said, "This pregnancy is a huge part of my life and health and energy are really important to me. That's all I'm asking for right now".

My take away? Apparently being pregnant is too general of a prayer request to share with a complete stranger. I'm trying really hard not to be offended or ticked off by this exchange, perhaps she's never had kids or just doesn't understand how carrying a child impacts every part of your mind, body and soul.

I was uncomfortable with the situation in the first place, so perhaps her response wasn't the only thing that bothered me. One thing that is hard about werking in a faith based environment is that people assume because you are 'brothers and sisters in Christ', they have a right to know very personal things about you, even though you are in a professional werk environment. I have mentioned before that I am a fairly private person at werk, particularly until I feel as though I can truly trust someone as a friend. I have boundaries with complete strangers, so it doesn't necessarily matter to me if we share the same faith or not...I'm not about to have an emotional breakdown on you and tell you about all of my struggles and pain. Besides, I tend to be a fairly positive person, so focusing on negative things isn't really my strong suit. Sorry.

This post has become a bit of a 'venting session', but it makes me ready to head back to Denver and resume my home.werker responsibilities. Being a part of office culture in small doses is good for me, but I'm ready to go home and be back with Jake and Lexi.

Here's a humorous look into a related type of situation: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2008/09/remix-53-saying-ill-pray-for-you-and-then-not/

Pinch Me

I werk with some truly amazing people. I love when I get to connect with them in person and build relationships with them on both a personal and a professional level.

Today I have been in literal back to back meetings with some of the most incredible women leaders I have ever met. Talk about being inspired! These women are all clear thinkers, decisive, good listeners, and have worked hard to earn the respect of their predominantly male peers. They speak truth in love, know how to provide constructive criticism, and are excellent at not taking werk-related issues too seriously. Most importantly, even at high levels of the organization, they still get things done. They are active people who want to see forward progress, they aren't just sitting around waiting for someone else to take care of things for them.

I resonate with these characteristics on so many levels, and work hard to develop them within myself. But it's always refreshing to be around others who have raised the bar and care passionately for their werk. This is one of those days when I pinch myself because I can't believe I have the opportunity to have a seat at the table with some of these people. *Pinch* Yep, still here!

This poster hung in my room throughout Jr. High and High School. I still love Rosie!

Kind of Cranky

Day 1 of all-day-meetings at the.land.of.cubicles...check!

Symptoms?
-I literally have a pain in the arse from sitting on horrible conference room chairs for 9 hours straight today. Baby D did not make the situation any better, except maybe to distract me with some crazy acrobatics after my spicy taco lunch. Does a lot of movement after eating spicy food mean the baby will like spicy food, or that the baby hates it and is taking it out on my ribs? Hmm...not sure about that.

-I took off my knee socks only to realize I'm really starting to swell more these days. I've never seen such puffy indentations from socks on my legs before. Oh the joys of preggo-swelling.

-Feeling guilty and angry because a former boss cornered me and asked me all sorts of very direct and inappropriate questions about my pregnancy and life in general, that I didn't know how to deflect or avoid. The person hasn't spoken a word to me in over a year, and all of the sudden thinks she has a right to tell me how big I am for how far along I am (i.e., thinks I'm huge), and to very illegally ask me if I plan to come back to werk after Baby D. is born. I'm so glad I don't have to put up with THAT every day for nine months,  and I'm very thankful for my current boss who is the most respectful and diplomatic person I think I've ever met.

-I'm hoping the outfits I have planned for the rest of the week are more comfortable than today's outfit. I'm really missing my maternity jeans and sweats already.

-Trying to avoid salty/sugary foods as much as possible, which will prove to be a challenge this week as I navigate through breakfast, lunch and dinner at restaurants this week.

-Relief: I think Colorado Springs is an aesthetically beautiful place, but I'm so glad I don't live here anymore. This place just never fit me right and even being back for a handful of days sometimes makes my skin crawl just a little. No offense to anyone who lives here and loves it, it's just not for me!

Only three more days to go!

Here's an ad in the Springs that is completely 'normal'. Obviously they have a target market in mind. Where do all the non-Christians go when they get injured?! (j/k...kind of).

Let it snow!

I feel like I brag about this every once in a while, but it's just so amazing.

I actually enjoy snowy week days because the majority of the time, I don't have to think about getting up earlier than normal so I can scrape my car off and navigate my way to the.land.of.cubicles. If anything, a beautiful snowy morning outside my office window means I will be baking banana bread or cinnamon rolls, just to make the house feel even more cozy. Today, the baked good of choice was chocolate chip banana bread...thanks to those lovely over-ripe bananas just waiting for it to snow today.

We got 7-8 inches of snow over night and it's supposed to keep snowing all day today. Miss Lexi isn't going to know what to do with herself when she gets outside and sees all the fresh snow to play in!

Happy Anniversary!

It's been one year since I started my maiden voyage into the land of blogging as the.home.werker. In some ways, it's hard to believe the time has gone by that fast...but so much has changed!

Now, I am sitting in my comfy office chair at my lovely desk, typing on my relatively new computer...working both cell phone and land line with ease.

Forget those days of card tables, dell computers, and my battle ax nokia-not-so-smart-phone.

My husband and I have gotten into a rhythm of werking from home at the same time. For example, he is currently brewing beer outside while I am multi-tasking away in the home office.

Lexi has also become accustomed to our daily routine, and bravely joins me in the office, whether she's lounging on her bed or sleeping on my feet, her presence is always welcome (as long as she's not snoring during conference calls!). She also enjoys a mid-afternoon break for a walk in the park before the sun sets, a huge perk of werking from home is still being able to soak up some vitamin D in the winter while werking.

Some things that haven't changed much in a year?
My motivation to 'participate in the day' through changing my clothes, showering, and getting ready for the day before sitting down at my desk. I'm still half in my pj's and working on day 2 of no shower...don't worry, we'll take care of that later today. Gross.

I still am able to cook dinner and get some chores done around the house while taking short breaks from werk, although you wouldn't know it by walking in the front door today. Some days are better than others, what can I say?

I still love Pandora and haven't made the switch to Spotify even though I have an account. It's just not that big a deal to me.

I still have a great stack of werk-related books I need to get to, because they are currently serving their purpose as office decor instead of inspirational and self-help knowledge. Oops.

I still have the same basket of samples and projects sitting on top of my desk from my old jobs, and I haven't looked at them in a year. Time to do something about that...

I find this blog to be a nice creative break or release, and I love finding the images that go with each post. Here's to another year of the.home.werker! Thanks for reading along!

Happy Ground Hog's Day!

This lady's outfit just kills me!

Inspiration

I love to be inspired, and it can happen at any point, any place, sometime even in my dreams or day dreams. Usually the best source of inspiration comes from other people, a certain phrase or perspective that gives me an entirely new angle to explore.

I believe we are all essentially creative people, but the way we express our creativity takes on a multitude of forms. Problem solving for a mathematician or engineer requires a great deal of creative energy. Pitching a new product or sale to a client requires deep understanding and the ability to create just the right environment for a client to sign on the dotted line. Composing music, delivering babies, balancing a budget, teaching jr. high students...without creativity infused into our daily lives, these efforts fall flat and unremarkable on the surface of our day.

I loved to be inspired to the point of creativity or creation, when I get the sensation that I've finally got some momentum, I'm picking up speed, and gathering strength and clarity as I go. I've got a vision that I'm straining toward and the effort will all build to a great and complete werk. (It's also probably why I werk well under pressure and procrastinate, knowing that the deadline coming at me with increasing speed will likely inspire my actions and my thoughts to personal movement).

Here's a link to someone who inspired me today: http://www.chrisseay.net/ 
I've got a wealth of ideas circulating around his new book and study series for a project at werk, and I can't wait to dig deeper as I learn more and get my hands on a copy! I hope that you'll watch the intro video and be inspired as well.