Happy Hour

I just got invited to happy hour with some girl friends tomorrow, and I realized how incredibly long it's been since I've even though about happy hour.

The first obvious reason is because I'm pregnant, so indulging in a post-werk cocktail or glass of wine simply isn't an option these days. The other reason is that, as the.home.werker, the feeling of freedom and release you get from escaping your cube to a local watering hole just isn't the same. The need to vent with co.werkers about other co.werkers or intense situations just isn't there in the same way when you werk from home. In all, the self-medicating that goes on through happy hour office gossip or drinks just doesn't seem as relevant to me any more.

When the weather was nice and I had finished with meetings early, Jake and I would occasionally head out to a local patio (or our backyard) for a cold beverage and to enjoy some quality time together. But that was the extent of my happy hour activities as the.home.werker, pre-pregnancy.

Now I find myself craving a nice chilled glass of pellegrino water with a fresh lemon wedge as I wind down the werk.day. That's my 'cocktail' of choice these days, now that I am living sans-alcohol and sans-caffeinated beverages. Cheers!

Drinking Pellegrino makes me feel like I could be sitting here!

Super Powers

I am swapping super powers these days...in exchange for the ability to grow a healthy baby, I have lost my super power of a sharp memory somewhere along the way during the first and second trimester. Normally, I am the one (between Jake and I) who remembers pretty much anything I've had a chance to see/visualize. Things like names/places/times/etc. all come to me with ease. Normally.

These days, I have found myself in the midst of conversations, whether at work or not, and....

um...
what?

I don't remember, maybe it'll come back to me. My mind is completely blank.

It's just like that, mid-sentence and all of the sudden I have completely lost what I wanted to say only seconds earlier. It's been happening more often lately, and I think it's becoming more noticeable. At least I'm noticing because it's so frustrating to have something that is usually so solid for me such as my memory, become rather unstable!

Jake suggested that I start writing things down so I remember them, but it happens too quickly. Mid-conversation and I've forgotten the new thought I've formed based on what someone has said...so I probably wouldn't have any luck writing it down in time either! Oh well, Memory, I hope you enjoy your little vacation, because I'm going to need you again some day!

I'm suffering from a case of pregnancy dementia. My apologies to any of you who are caught in its trap with me!

Conference Rooms

When I first started werking in the.land.of.cubicles, I got lost, a lot. It's a large, 4 story building with three "wings", and the layout on all floors is almost identical until you get the lay of the land. To make matters worse, the conference rooms are named after the exotic places where my organization werks. So unless you've got the 'capital cities of the entire world' memorized, and correct pronunciations down-pat, you WILL get lost trying to find your way to Ouagadougou for the first time.

My previous position was composed of overlapping, back-to-back meetings all over the building(s). Lugging my 15 lb. laptop up and down stairs in 3 inch heels all day long isn't something I miss. I also have not missed having to find, schedule, and provide directions to conference rooms...keeping fingers crossed that there is a conference phone in the room. I have not missed having to interrupt meetings that were going too long in the room I had reserved, or getting kicked out of a room because my meeting was going too long and someone else needed the space/conference phone.

As a regional employee, the only person who ever kicks me out of my office/conference room/break room is me...and occasionally Lexi when she needs a potty break. My biggest concern is hopping on the conference line at the right time, and hopping off before someone else needs to use the line I'm on. Which really isn't a problem since I've got my own conference line.

I love being the.home.werker.

Your geography lesson for the day.

Hormones

Let's be honest, I'm now in my third trimester and hormones are taking me for a ride these days. I'm truly thankful I'm in the comfort of my home office most of the times that they start raging, because I fear I am dangerously close to crossing that line of being 'that crazy pregnant woman' at werk. Instead, veiling my facial expressions and body language behind the security of a conference call has helped me maintain some of my dignity with my co-werkers...and spared them some of my irrational-hormone-induced-wrath!

Things like missed deadlines, important project tasks falling through the cracks, and other 'norms' in the world of marketing where my professional life exists...these days, they are throwing me for a loop! Normally I am the one who diplomatically addresses these missteps with a smile on her face. Or I'd like to think that's how I am at werk.  These days I feel my blood pressure spike and hear the words I'd like to use in my head before I speak or type them, and I apply a heavy 'preggo-filter' before pushing send or opening my mouth.

I'm not sure if this is very healthy, but I am really looking forward to maternity leave for a lot of reasons. Especially since I'll need to give my hormones a chance to even out after baby is born, and I'm pretty sure my co-werkers don't need to be victims of that as well.

For now, it's time to step away from the computer and telelphone and go eat a cookie, I think.

Go To Meeting

Once a quarter, my larger department of about 50 people gathers for a day long meeting, outside of the.land.of.cubicles, to reconnect and share with one another. I usually make the trek down to the Springs so that I can catch up with folks in person, but since I was just there all last week...the trek seemed a little unnecessary. Plus I had a few other meetings before and after the all-day itinerary that might need to get bumped if I was in transit. My boss graciously allowed me to join the other regional staff (there's about 12 of us) on the 'Go To Meeting' virtual connection for the day.

I've been attending the meeting via a web cam and chat connection, and it's honestly been going really well. I'm more impressed with the way this is being run than most of my conference calls and webinars that I normally join.

It's good to belong to a group that is made up of a bunch of us 'regional' folks, who know how to run a virtual meeting with as little pain and discomfort as possible.(The audio is muted during breaks, the presenters have relevant power point presentations and speak to the web cam when possible, and the chat moderators cue us in to 'hard to hear' parts of the meeting in the room).

Plus, while everyone is on their lunch break, I get to scoot into the kitchen and make up some homemade sugo (tomato sauce) and meatballs for dinner!

mmmm....

Owowowow!

It was 4am. I went to 'flip' myself over in bed, which is a complicated maneuver of slowly shifting my weight from side, to back, to side, using mostly my legs. When I went to swing my legs over, the instant pain of my calf muscles peeling back like a taught rubber band shot through my legs and my whole body tensed up. I've had charlie horses before, but this one was so intense I woke myself (and Jake, and Lexi) shouting 'owowowowowowow!'. The worst part about charlie horses is that they inflict a sore pain that lingers in your leg and makes you afraid that your muscles will rebel again at any moment. After I calmed myself down, heard Jake mumble something about how I needed to go eat a banana, I fell back to sleep. Only to be awake a short time later with a similar pain behind my right knee.

I know this is a common symptom of pregnancy, and I have been fortunate enough to skip this horrible step until now. But I'm already fighting against my body's tendency to waddle wherever I go, and having sore legs this morning is NOT helping me be waddle-less.

I ate a banana with breakfast this morning and I am chugging water. But really, I'm exhausted and feel like I never actually slept last night. Perhaps this is preparing me for the sleepless nights heading my way in three short months. But I'm tempted to take today as a 'sick day' and head back to bed, fingers crossed that my alarm will not be in the form of a muscle cramp! I've got one more meeting to get through and then we'll see what happens.

February 14 Memories

The Valentine's Days of my childhood were always special because of one person, my mom.
My mom is talented in the way she celebrates holidays, from the themed pair of socks on her feet to the little gifts she has thoughtfully prepared for her kids.

Every morning on Valentine's Day I would walk to the kitchen to find the room decked out in fun red decor, and at my place setting, a card and some small gifts and candy. Maybe it was a CD I had been wanting or a funky pair of socks and some art supplies, what the gift was didn't really matter so much now that I think about it. It was the fact that my mom went the extra mile to make sure we knew how loved we were on this special day.

Sure there have been Valentine's days with and without boyfriends, and I *may* have worn black one Valentine's day that I was single with all of my girlfriends (oh, adolescence). But the consistency of my mom showing me love in this way was always something I looked forward to. After all, who doesn't love to know that they are loved? That someone thinks you are worth going the extra mile for, even if it's only in the form of a handwritten card or a gesture of kindness.

I miss my mom on days like today, and sometimes wish I could go running back home to my parents' house on 421 Merion Drive and sit in the kitchen with my family all together again. But time and life have had us all move on from that place, and the best parts of it remain in our memories and relationships with each other.

This Valentine's Day, I challenge you to love. To make a little extra effort, and show love more clearly to someone in your life today. It doesn't have to be romantic, just sincere. Make someone's day by letting them know how special they are to you!

Happy Valentine's Day!