Office Talk

While looking through pictures of his new baby

Me: "Oh, she is absolutely precious!"
Co-worker: "Thanks, your next!"
Me: "uh, not anytime in the near future"
Co-worker: "Well, don't wait too long"
Me: "Thanks"

Proud Panther

I'll admit that I get more excited for Iowa games than I do for my Alma Mater, but know that UNI will always be near and dear to my heart. They deserve a shout out since they not only won their game Saturday, but the MVFC title too. Go Panthers!

Over the Last Few Days...

Things That Are On My Mind:
*Dentist Appointment - I haven't been to the dentist for a professional cleaning in over *gasp* 2 years. I'm afraid of what they'll find. Also, this means having to see Dr. McHottie in an unflattering, vulnerable state - with all the tools poking and prodding my mouth, the bib, etc.
*Dr. Bill - I finally got my bill from PT and I think my heart stopped upon seeing those numbers. For the record, I don't feel like I got my money's worth.

Things That Make Me Smile:
*Regan's Phone Call - Before bedtime the other night, Regan sang me the ABC's, Old McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the Wheels On the Bus. Of course, hearing her say "wuve you Coco" was the icing on the cake. Love her.
*Tires - After struggling a little with what kind of tires to get/where to go, I finally made a decision and got it all taken care of today. It's a relief and glad it's over with.
*Cousin Outing - I met up with my cousins tonight for a fun dinner outing. It's always fun seeing them and not only talking of what's currently going on each of our lives but also talking about all our fun memories growing up.

Time For a Change

After some careful thought, I decided to stop my compressed work week schedule and go back to a 5, 8 hour day work week. I'm happy to report that after 3 weeks, I'm loving it and am 100% behind this decision and here's why:

*Shorter Days: The hours at work go by a lot faster and I think I am actually more productive in 8 hours than I was on 10. I usually hit a wall anywhere between the hours of 2:30-4:00 where I just shut down and it was almost impossible for me to get motivated to keep working. A "shorter" day prevents me from getting so burnt out.

*Energy: I feel I have a lot more energy when I leave work. It's amazing how those 2 extra hours of being holed up in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen really starts to drain you.

*Time: I feel like I've been given the gift of time. On the 10 hour days, I felt like I only had time for one "activity" per night - so I had to choose whether to go running or run errands or do housework or hang out with friends. Now, my nights seem to last forever and I can do so much more. Today, for example, I ran 5 miles and went to the grocery store, (in the time I'd normally still be at work) then ran some errands, and went over to S&J's for the rest of the evening.

*Sun: I think there's a lot of validity to the whole exposure to sunlight is important idea. It is not fun to go AND leave work in the dark. I did this all of last winter and am relieved to not to have to do it again. Plus, I can get most, if not all of my runs in before the sun goes down.

Do I miss the 3 day weekends? To be honest, no. Although it was great not working Fridays, it started to become a busy day full of errands, appointments, housework, etc and I rarely did anything fun. Now, with having more time and energy in the evenings, I can get more of those "chores" done during the week and still have time to enjoy my weekend. Has it been hard working on Fridays? Not so far. There are actually a few perks to working Fridays - jeans day, the atmosphere is more laid back, and usually it seems to be a quieter day in terms for the workload.

Who knows if the novelty of the "short" days will wear off, but I'm not worrying about that. Right now, I'm just enjoying the change of pace.

A Couple's Cover

While performing at a benefit for Teen Feed, Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel performed this duet. I love when artists use their talents to help give back, so kudos. Also, how adorable are they?! Love him, love her, love them together.



...and because I'm computer illiterate and can't figure out how to stop the screen from being cut off, here is the link. (even though the quality isn't great).

For a Laugh

I've been meaning to post this for a while now. A few weeks ago, while "in the nest" with one of my co-workers, my blog came up. He didn't know I had one, so I sent him the link. He wrote this to me in an email after reading a few of my postings. It's too funny not to share:

"This is so much more thoughtful than Facebook. I tend to read my wife's friends posts (her laptop is in the kitchen ((I'm always eating)), and they are mind numbing. The subjects usually fall into these categories:

• This quote from my child shows how smart they are. "On the way to preschool Grant just asked 'if the government can spend so much money on the war in Afghanistan, why can't they help the thousands of refugees being slaughtered by puppet regimes in the northern coastal countries of Africa?'"
• This quote from my child shows how much they love their [insert family member here]. As I drove Dakota from soccer to dance (hip-hop, ballet, tap and cheerleading) she said "Mommy I want to look as beautiful as you when I'm a Mommy."
• A shout out to someone that they just visited, ie: just had a great time with the Smith's at the Open Sore and Puss exhibit at the Science Center
• A shout out to their spouse on how much they love them (sure sign of marital problems)
• An update on what they are eating (for the 10th day in a row)"

You Ate My Sandwich?!

This picture was taped to the refrigerator in the break room at work this morning: