Foot Warmer

I have the best foot warmer ever. Everyone should get one of these:

 

This is Lexi around 8-9 weeks old sleeping on a throw pillow. Now she joins me in the office and sleeps on top of my feet most of the day. It's one of the most therapeutic parts of my day. 

Yesterday we took her to the vet for a routine check up and some vaccinations. As a puppy parent, my heart was bursting with pride...and I couldn't help but laugh a little at the look on her face as she flinched when she got her 'temperature taken'. Poor thing.  There is no way I would give unconditional love to someone putting the thermometer where the vet tech did, but Lexi has more love to give than almost any being I have ever encountered. She truly amazes me, and honestly, inspires me a lot of times. 

She makes friends wherever she goes, because she loves first and doesn't know how to contain her happiness. That bumper sticker 'Wag more, Bark Less' totally applies to Miss Lexi. 

Although I can't justify the $500 the vet quoted us to get her teeth cleaned (seriously?!)...I'm so thankful for my office companion, who keeps my feet warm and fills my day with golden retriever smiles without restraint. 

(Yes, I love my dog).

 

Rest and Drive

"There is an energy that comes from being rested that is different from the energy that comes from being driven." -Ruth Haley Barton

An interesting quote, because I know the energy that comes from being driven. I am often described that way by my co-werkers: driven, tenacious, ambitious, 'makes things happen'. People often joke in meetings that it's better to be on my side than not. I'm glad people take me seriously, because I approach my werk with passion and importance, but I also try to do it in a way that will earn others' respect.

The energy that comes from being rested is something I'm continuing to explore. As I gain more experience I have realized I truly don't need to be everything to everyone. I don't need to participate in certain activities to prove that I am a good person to other people. If sitting in my backyard staring at the sky for an afternoon is something I can do, I'll do it.

My boss once asked me why I'm always smiling, and if there is ever a time that I'm not. In some ways, that comment caught me off guard because I don't want to be interpreted as someone who only 'smiles' at life, when there are times to be more serious. I guess I also didn't realize how much I was smiling, and that made me a little self conscious. However, I am at a place in my career where it is easy to get perspective when I need it, and just as easy to dive into the nitty gritty details. I love being able to live in both planes, I guess it makes it me smile.

I also find rest and drive in both places, which is something I am very thankful for.

Now...it's 70 degrees, lunch time, and Jake and I are headed out doors to have some grilled salmon for lunch. There's some 'rest' for you!

chasing daylight

I cannot WAIT for day light savings time this weekend. I feel like a new person when the day light lasts a few extra hours, and I don't have to dread the sun slipping away at 4pm. I love the sun, I love warm weather, I love that I live in a state that boasts 300 days of sun a year. If there's one thing that is easy to get used to, it's sunny days.

Apparently my dog feels the same way. She managed to find the one slice of sunlight in my office and park herself right underneath it. Go Lexi, get that vitamin D!

Pace Yourself

Every first Monday of the month, I trek down to the.land.of.cubicles for a two hour meeting with my team. About half of us werk from home, so it's a good time to catch up with one another in person. I usually try to make the most of my trip by scheduling other meetings with folks I don't normally get to see, which makes the 100+ mile round trip seem a little more purposeful sometimes. Although meeting with my team is always encouraging to me!

I was wondering how I would fare with making the trip down and back in one day yesterday, along with having a get together with some friends in the evening. By the time I got home and peeled myself out of the Jeep, I was weary. I have a hunch that the baby has moved to a new position that involves laying/pushing/standing on my pelvis, creating an achy pain that is kind of exhausting. I tried to lay down and take a nap before heading out again, but sleep escaped me. It's rather hard to shut off my brain these days.

After coming home for the evening, I knew I had hit a wall (evidenced by my ability to produce irrational tears at the drop of a hat). I had found myself listening to conversations with my friends instead of engaging in them, and I knew it was time to go to bed. I am not usually the wallflower in a group, and I was beginning to make myself uncomfortable!

Perhaps the drive to the.land.of.cubicles and going out was just a bit too much for me to handle. It's time to take a step back and realize that my 'normal' is changing quickly these days...even for the.home.werker who gets to werk at home in her pj's until noon most days.

'Week-End'

I love Fridays. I love the rhythm of each day of each week, and how specific days seem to carry certain vibes/feelings/etc. along with them. Even from my earliest memories of using hair barrettes for each day of the week in preschool, I knew I liked my 'Friday' barrette better than the others. Perhaps it was the color of the barrette, perhaps it's some post-industrial-revolution instinct gathered from my ancestors that makes me long for a weekend.

I recently started watching the PBS Masterpiece Series, Downton Abbey, after hearing a few of my friends rave about it on social media sites. In one episode, the newly discovered heir mentions only being available on weekends because of his werk schedule, and the grandmother (Dowager Countess of Grantham, ultimate british matriarch of the show) simply asks: "What is a week-end?".

Apparently during the early 20th century, the 'week-end' was something to be enjoyed by the middle class, since the likes of the residents of Downton Abbey had no need of werk, and therefore no understanding of the use of a 'week-end'.

I am glad of my weekends, however 'middle class' they might be, and always happy to see them show their face come Friday afternoon! I find it to be a great indulgence to turn off my werk email account on my iphone after werk on Fridays...helping me avoid the temptation to check any emails that filter in over the weekend.

On another note, if you get a chance to watch some episodes of Downton Abbey online or on netflix this weekend, do it. It's a slower moving British drama, but the cast is huge and the story lines become more intriguing with each turn of the plot. 

Steve Miller

Do me a favor. Press play on the video and listen to the song while you read:).

In 8th or 9th grade, my class took a trip to Baltimore's inner harbor. We spent time at the aquarium and I'm sure some other historic places...but my clearest memory of this trip is listening to my brand new and first ever 'classic rock' cd on my Discman...it was a copy of the Steve Miller Band's greatest hits that I bought at a flea market. While 'Fly Like an Eagle' was not my immediate favorite song on the album, the lyrics come back to me from time to time. Especially this one: time keeps on slippin, into the future!

As I look at my calendar on this first day of March, I am feeling anxious, a bit overwhelmed, and not sure where to start. I have two full months of werk remaining, and once the month of May begins, I need to be ready to go on maternity leave at moment's notice. It's so exciting, but so difficult to figure out how to get my ducks in a row sometimes.

Earlier this week I sorted through my inbox and deleted a bunch of old emails I'd never need. Now I feel I must go through my desk and my files and do the same...before I forget why any of the things I've saved are important to me.

It's time to get a grip on the days I've got left and make a plan, before they slip away from me into the future!

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!