Resolving Anything?

It's that time of year. Time to contemplate what the heck we just spent the past 365 days doing. (This year, we'll get 366 days to analyze it!)

I've put together my list of resolutions (did so last week) and I'm raring to go. In fact, I'm so raring to go. I already started.

Today.

Well, why not? It's a Monday. So what if there's technically another day keeping that golf calendar of mine hanging up on the cubicle wall? Big deal. Why can't I get cracking on those bad boys today, if I'm motivated to do so.

So I am.

Resolving.

Starting at 6:05 this morning, when I woke up.

Yep, still resolving.

I'll even share a few of them with you, though some of them are a little too personal to go into with great detail here. (No offense, but I'm not stepping on a scale in front of my hubby either, so I'm sure not getting into specifics here.) But I'll share a few of my favorites.

I've got 20. (Yeah, THAT many.) I guess I have a lot I want to accomplish this year. Some may even surprise you.

This year, I renamed my list. No resolutions here - they're all "I Will" statements. And that's the point. These are things that I WILL get done.

1. I will try one new vegetarian recipe every other week.
2. I will try one new wine I've never tried before every month.
3. I will read a new book every month.
4. I will plan a get-together with a close friend I don't see regularly at least once a month.
5. I will take my vitamins every morning.
6. I will learn more about digital photography and learn how to become a better photographer throughout the year.
7. I will introduce myself to one cocktail I've never tried before every month. (no, I'm not becoming a lush, but I should at least know what a martini tastes like, right?)
8. I will commit to including fitness into my daily schedule at least 5 days a week.
9. I will commit to watching portions at each meal and making smarter eating choices.
10. I will give myself permission to splurge once a week at one meal because it's not the food that's bad, it's the overindulgence of it.
11. I will do one thing to my house (inside or out) every month that will make it more homey and inviting.
12. I will improve my average golf game by 10 strokes by the end of the year.

Okay, I'll admit. This last one might be pushing it a bit, but I'm certainly going to try.

Good luck with your I WILL statements. And may you have a beautiful, promising and personally satisfying new year.

And go, Noles!

The Morning After

Have you recovered? From the holidays, I mean?
Me neither.

I really didn't want to go into work this morning. But this is one chick with no paid time off available. Certainly not on December 26.

Maybe it was the two parties we threw, the many family and friend visits and get-togethers since early November, the shopping, the traffic, the food planning-purchasing-preparing, decorating and more decorating...maybe it was the late Christmas get-together with present opening not underway until after 5:30.

Perhaps it was that bottle of Vampire brand white zinfadel that I drank. All afternoon. And evening. And finished by myself.

Whatever it is, I have struggled to focus all day. I have fought to stay awake and alert on other occasions. I have wrestled away my attention span from numerous distractions and easy-to-digest goofing off opportunities to do even a little work today.

Alas, I didn't win the battle. I don't have much to show for today.

Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better. Tomorrow is another day, right, Scarlett?

Sigh. I wanna go home.

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Hard to believe the day's finally here. This year, we did so many holiday things leading up to the day that when it finally arrived and we'd thrown all of our parties, sent out the cards (a few weeks late) and wrapped all of the gifts (the night before - oy!), we didn't know what to do anymore. We were just thrilled to be together and not working!
Let's see. We drank coffee and read the paper. And just sat on the lanai and by the Christmas tree and in the family room and...relaxed. (Relax? What's that?!) We hadn't really enjoyed simply vegging in a long time. It seems we've been planning for one party or special occasion after another.

And if there's one thing we haven't done, it's golf. Hmmm... how can we rectify this? The kids are coming over at 4 p.m.

We hit the range. It felt great to swing the driver again. I couldn't get over how straight and far my drives were today. Off the grass, my irons were pretty pathetic as always. We followed it up with some putting which was, well, quite sad. But it was just the thing we needed.

When we returned home to a pouting pooch, we still felt like playing a little more hooky, so what better way than to watch a horrible television movie (on Lifetime of all things). Yep, we're definitely needing some serious veg time. Oh, it was the movie CHRISTMAS WEDDING with Sarah Paulson of "Studio 60" fame, Dean Cain (yep, Superman) and Betty's young boss on "Ugly Betty." Cornball city, but I watched...and surprisingly, Larry, too, for much of it. Then, he called his sis and escaped the predictable, give-me-a-break conclusion.

The kids came over to enjoy Christmas dinner and presents and because we had goofed off all day, we were running around getting stuff together in one hour. Gulp! No one said we were smart!

But the food was a hit and the presents were awesome all the way around.

It also was finally a chance to see the boys open up their photo albums we'd been working on since the summer. I'd say they were a success. I hope they'll appreciate them as much as I did when I turned 21 and my folks gave me a photo album of my life.


It was a wonderful day and unfortunately, it's back to the grind for three days before we can resume our weekend. But we sure had fun, spending some time with our favorite people.

Lar and I wish so badly we could hang out together in the morning, reading the paper, sipping coffee, just being here with each other and the pupster. Dex sure had a crazy couple of weeks greeting all these wonderful visitors. He loved the company and now he can enjoy the rewards.

The party's over. It's almost time to pack it up and welcome a new year.

Time to hit the hay, little one.

A Groovy Santa Site

My friend Scott reminded me about this groovy Santa site that we discovered a few years ago. Santa does WHATEVER you ask him to do. (Uh-huh, it's as cool as it sounds.)

Well, anyway, this site became SO popular that they shut it down temporarily because they couldn't accommodate the heavy traffic. But it's back and better than ever with both a kid-friendly and naughty version...hmm. Might want to check out THAT one at home.

Enjoy Simon Sez Santa and don't forget to ask him to river dance. He's really quite talented.

Holiday Tunes

Well, well, well... I just realized that it's nearly Christmas and I haven't really listened to all that much holiday music. Last night's holiday light drive was the first really concentrated time besides setting up the tree and village.

We have our huge jukebox of CDs programmed to play half holiday and half mild rock n' roll and adult contemporary (yes, the Nirvana has been edged out during the holidays...gee, darn). But for some reason or another, we don't seem to be hearing all that much holiday stuff when we're playing it.

So today and tomorrow and the day after I'll be listening to all Christmas...all the time. I must catch up. In the meantime, here is an interesting take on the worst of holiday's crooning just for your listening displeasure.

I have to admit. Although the Beatles are for me the ultimate band of all time and I am a Madonna fan, those two Christmas ditties make my skin crawl. But I absolutely, 100% unequivocably DISAGREE with their number one choice for worst Christmas song. In fact, it would be on my list of favorite ones!! You can check out a list of their choices for best holidays songs.

See if you agree with these schmoes!

Some Holiday Lights For You

Tonight, Larry and I drove around some of the other communities in the area to see the holiday lights, a tradition I look forward to every year.

Some neighborhoods really do it up and others, well, you have to wonder if they're just waiting for this Christmas thing to be done already! We found one house in Wesley Chapel's Stagecoach (I think) that was reminiscent of the beer commercial's Manheim Steamroller-pulsating house.

The music was chiming, the lights were flashing - it was quite cool. Here's another house with great light and music action that I found online.

I'm sure they're scoring big points with the neighbors. Enjoy!

What Do You Know?

Test your knowledge of the holly jolly days of Christmas in this little Chicago Trib Christmas quiz.

I've determined that I should stick to drinking egg nog and watching "Frosty the Snowman."

How santa smart are you? Me?! Not so smart...have fun!

This Says It All

A friend of mine sent me some amusing motivational posters. I think this one says it all.

This right here is my sense of humor in a nutshell.


This one's hanging on my cube wall. These two below, however, while also representative of my sense of humor probably wouldn't win over the HR department here too much.

Listen, Enjoy and Buy Please!

This is a very cool article about the best songs used in advertising this year including groovy tunes by artists like Feist and Wilco (pictured). The list was compiled by one of my favorite mags, Advertising Age.

What do you think of their picks? I like the Lifehouse song that they tear apart, but I have to admit: anytime '1234' or a Wilco-themed Volkswagen commercial comes on, I'm tuning in immediately!

Holiday Parties, The Sequel

Well, Dexter had another party again...

He is such a party animal.


This time, it was a chance to catch up with family and some of our oldest friends. The weather was at first questionable. We didn't even set up the tables until ten minutes before the first guests were to arrive.

But this was one time we were glad that everyone was a little late.

Our grandson Deacon had fun with his new buddy Ryan (below) who loved to ham it up for the camera.
Food was everywhere and plenty of it.


It was a great chance for old friends to get together and catch up. And people to meet others they'd heard so much about.

This is why I celebrate the holidays...an excuse to have a party.

And good food.

And tasty treats and sweets.

And wine. Lots and lots and lots of wine.

Sigh. I love holidays.

New Fanatical Access Out Today

Don't forget...debuting at Verizon Wireless stores inside Circuit City locations in the Tampa Bay area today...

The fourth and final issue of Fanatical Bucs Access with profiles on linebacker Barrett Ruud, guard Davin Joseph and cheerleader Milly Figuereo. Remember: it's free!

Pick up a copy of this full-color, glossy publication and keep a newspaper advertising writer employed! Thank you!!

Day of Reckoning

Man, what a day for baseball.

George Mitchell's official report on steroid use in the MLB is released and the names are flying. Many we're not surprised by (Bonds, Giambi, Clemens, Tejada), others we're disappointed by (Pettite, Gagne, Loduca). But for all, we're wondering --- how could you be so stupid?

Am I the only one out there who was simply relieved that certain names did NOT appear in the report? Pujols, Big Popi, Matt Holliday, Carlos Lee, Carl Crawford, Greg Maddux...whew.

I'm sure this marks only the beginning of this tale as players start rebuking the report or coming forth and confirming. It's a really sad time for baseball. They'd finally won some of the confidence and interest back of the fans since their '94 salary disputes and this certainly won't help.

Sad....very sad.

Factory Girl, Checking In For Duty!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m not satisfied unless the work I’ve done is top-notch. I’m a detailed person – sometimes too much for my own good – and if I need to stay late, I’ll just do it. I’m about the results and whatever it takes to get the results, I just do it. Am I the first to arrive at a meeting or at my desk? Nope. That’s not my strong suit. But I’m reliable on when I’ll be there. Almost always, it’s 9:15.

Enter the latest scenario to indicate lack of trust on the job. Today I had my hand slapped because instead of coming in at 9, I often come in at 9:15 or 9:20. Sure, once in a while, I come in at 9:30 (with notice given, of course) and stay late to make up the time. Nobody ever asks me how late I stay or seems to mind when I work through lunch because I’m trying to get an article done. That doesn’t seem to matter. Apparently the ship is going down because I am not sitting at my desk at 9 a.m. on the nose.

Do people rely on me for urgent technical or creative support?
No.

Do others in my department depend on my presence to complete their own sections?
Nope.

Are the advertisers or reps (or anyone for that matter!) complaining because I am not sitting there at 9 o’clock each morning?
Heck no.

SMACK!

Okay, tell me once – you’d like me to be there on time. Overkill is really not necessary

Next day – e-mail is sent re-iterating to all that our group needs to arrive on time. (Hey, wait a minute – isn’t this what you already told us yesterday?)

SMACK!

Oh, and an individual meeting held for me only with No. 2 and No. 3 to re-iterate (apparently what they already re-iterated twice). Oh yeah, you trust me, sure. Your mouth is saying it but your actions are saying something completely different.

Next day – e-mail sent out yet again re-iterating what was already emphasized um three times already. Okay, got it. (Meanwhile, I’ve been here early two days in a row after the first message is relayed…)

SMACK!

So, am I doing a good job? Are you pleased with my work? Am I really causing you any troubles? I didn’t think so.

So now I’m officially working 9:15 to 6:15 hours and that’s what they expect me to work, like clockwork. (Or what? Will I get my hand slapped if I decide to come in early one day? Do they have nothing better to do?)

I don’t like to think like an hourly worker. It’s a bad habit to get into, takes your focus off the point of the work you do and puts far too much emphasis on the mechanics of doing it. I prefer to concentrate on the quality of my work, on completing the full extent of my work. If I need to stay late one day, I’ll do it. I won’t charge you for it. I’ll just leave early another day that I could use the extra time or come in later a different day when I’m getting a lot done at my house in the morning. I trust you’ll let me make it up if you trust that I’m not trying to get a free lunch. But apparently, that’s where the problem lies. I guess they do think I want a free lunch and that’s too bad.

Today, a salary-minded individual was basically told ‘we don’t trust you’ and Factory Girl mode has been activated. I was beginning to feel really motivated in this place again after the paranoia, disappointment and hurt from last May’s almost-canning. Now, what’s my incentive to give 100%? I’m clearly not trusted and my work is not appreciated.

If you want an hourly worker, you’ll get an hourly worker. I wasn’t planning to look elsewhere in 2008 – thought I was fine settling in here, but now I’m beginning to question my decision to give it a full go. Maybe they don’t deserve a good worker willing to go the extra mile. Clearly, they don’t even know how to recognize one in this department. That’s too bad.

Factory Girl, punching in and reporting for duty…

The Holiday House Is Open

Today we had a few friends over at the house to celebrate the holiday season. I never imagined we'd get through the day because we had little sleep and because of the unpredictable nature of the event.

We hosted the 12 Hours of Christmas. Sounds simple enough. Well, yes and no.

You invite guests to pop in anytime between noon and midnight and must be prepared to offer food and drinks - at anytime. That's the tricky part.



The drinks, the candy, the music - that part was easy. But the food...this was the not-so-easy part. Careful planning and many trips to the fridge to store and remove, store and remove, all day were in order.

But we managed to stay awake (even after a bottle of Moscato) and friendly, and the guests made it all worthwhile.

Thanks for popping by, all. It was wonderful to see you and we sure do appreciate you spending some time with us.

Happy holidays, everybody.