Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Dark Side

We all have a dark side.  You know it.  The side that when someone makes a snide comment where you want to bat one right back?  Even though you know it won't help and it won't make things any better.

I'm very good at ignoring the dark side at work.  In a professional side it doesn't help anything and usually does more harm than good.  When I first moved to Calgary I'd come home in tears once in a while.  I remember one instance where I had asked the department managers to assist in a project (mandatory) and when they didn't my boss asked me what their responses were, I had no choice but to tell her.  She reamed them out in a managers meeting and then one manager, turned and yelled at me that I didn't do what she was asking so how would he know.

I've learned since that that particular manager is passionate and his first response is anger.  I let it go in the meeting and didn't argue because I knew it would turn into a he-said, she-said.  After the meeting my boss asked to see my email asking for their assistance.  I provided a copy for her, which detailed that he was wrong and I had asked.  Later on, he came to me and apologized.

It didn't take out the sting.  When someone yells at you in front of 7 people and then apologizes in private, the damage is done.

I've been dealing with a manager who does one thing and says another.  Constantly.  I've been working on flyer's for the 2 departments and they have to agree.  I have an email copy of both agreeing to this flyer.  I made up the flyer and sent it for approval and he emailed back saying he hadn't been consulted and that he wouldn't participate.

At this, I emailed him a copy of his previous email asking why he approved the ideas and not now.  He ignored me.  I emailed my boss at this point.  I let the dark side out and I threw him under the bus.  I told her that he was wasting my time (true, I spent 2 hours on that flyer) and that he was making his own flyer's (also true) even though he had been told clearly that all flyer's had to go through me and be approved by our boss. 

She had me email on her behalf and cancel all flyer's from this point forward. 

It pisses me off that his childish behavior cancels something that could benefit everyone.  And that he still thinks he can do whatever he wants. 

So frustrating! 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Vent and the Cha Cha

2 posts in one day you say?  Yes, because I'm annoyed and if I don't get it out, I'm liable to march upstairs, wake R up and b*tch slap him.

Do all men get all cranky when they stay home and their girlfriends, wives, significant others go out?  Because I'm on round 2 and baby let me tell you, I'm getting mighty sick of it.  Seriously.  C used to get cranky at me if I was out too late and what was I doing, blah, blah, blah.

R isn't like that at all, but the man doesn't think ahead or notice anything.  If I make an effort, put on a dress, you should damn well say something about it.  Especially if I put on a dress to go out with you!  But no, he never notices, I never get a "you look nice".  Why is that so difficult?

I went out tonight with a girlfriend.  I don't do this too often so I was excited, dressed up a bit, what did he say?  Ooh you're wearing a dress.  And...that's it.  No "you look nice" just you're wearing a dress - well thank you Captain Obvious.  So he knew I was going to be out a bit late.  I call him at 11:30 and he's sleeping, ok no big deal, but he gets all cranky on the phone because I woke him up.  Well 99.999999% of the time he's up until after midnight 7 days a week - I figured he'd be awake.

I tell him I'll talk to him when I get home, he says I've already woken him up, but then he doesn't talk.  Whatever.  I get home and he didn't leave any lights on for me and didn't bother to mention there is a big stinky tent set up - in the freaking living room!

So annoying.  I'm partially annoyed because of the stupid little things but I'm also annoyed because another night out that was a lot of fun, had a shitty ending.

The upside - tonight was fun!  We went for dinner and drinks and then to a dance class, learned the Cha Cha and East Coast Swing.  After the class there was a 2 1/2 hour dance party that you could stay for.  Got my groove on, got asked to dance, had some fun!

Sheesh Men!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Fail

Ok, I fail at blogging lately.  I just don't have time.  I'm going to try to keep doing the 10 day challenge, but it's gonna be spread out.  lol.  Maybe next week I'll try again.  I'm not sure who I was kidding when I figured I could blog 10 days in a row, lol.

Last night I learned 2 new things.

1. Irish Cream Fudge is good.  And easy to make.  I will post the recipe later this week.  Yum!

2. Ink does not come out of a carpet easy, but it will come out.  My dog the bugger that she is, feels the need to jump on the desk and steal things when she gets bored during the day.  It's sporatic, some times she won't do it for weeks and then sometimes it happens daily.  Wednesday she got a hold of a pen.  She's not great at hiding things, so leaving the pen pieces on the carpet was my first sign. 

I threw it away, gave her crap and moved on.  I noticed she had some ink spots on her (freshly washed I might add) leg that same night but figured whatever.  Last night I happened to walk past and see this spot on the carpet.  We have this area rug in the living room, huge rug that has a tall pile and it shaggy.  It's a cream-ish color, with some grey and brown threads that run through it.  I took a look and found this ink spot. 

I tried to blot it up with paper towel and it just made a bigger mess.

I Googled it and found out you can use WD-40 or rubbing alcohol.  Since I have  a dog and at any given time she or the baby or R will roll around on the carpet, I chose the rubbing alcohol, it evaporates and doesn't stink like WD-40. 

Long story short, I was able to get 90% of it out, however, it makes a bigger mess first.  The alcohol dissolves the ink but spreads it around.  I need to have another go at it tomorrow and see if I can get the rest out. 

Moral of the story:  Give the dog a kong with treats once in a while and keep the desk clear...it's less work. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

10 Day you Challenge

Normally today I would do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post, however, I don't have a lot of time, so I'm a day late, but I'm going to join in on the 10 day YOU challenge, that I found here.


Here we go!

10 Secrets:

{one} I worry that I will never be able to have children.

{two} I have a love/hate relationship with my Dad and ESM.

{three} I'm not photogenic.  at all.  Ugh.

{four} I'm really hoping my sister will move back to RD, after she gets her mess sorted out.

{five} I hate writing minutes for the meetings that I attend each monday.  I love the details I'm privy too at those meetings however.

{six} I'm nervous as hell to go back to school.

{seven} I'm terrified to go back downtown where I ended up going to wrong way on a one-way street.  I'm afraid it's going to happen again.

{eight} I'm a bit concerned about whether or not my predecessor will be coming back after her mat leave term.  I know I'll have a job regardless but the dynamics will change between my boss and I, or I'm worried they will and I have no idea what either of us will end up doing with this position.

{nine} I was in a spelling bee when I was in the 5th grade.  I just had to spellcheck predecessor.

{ten} I hate getting up at 6am, especially when it's still dark out.

I guess those weren't all secrets perse, but ten secrets is a lot harder than you'd think! 

I'll try to get 9 loves later so I can catch up!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Weekend Review, A.K.A. the post with a lot of pictures


This is where I spent my weekend.  It was beautiful.  I forgot how much I enjoy camping.  The water was cool and refreshing, the weather beautiful, not too hot, but warm enough that the water was enticing.  We had a bit of a rocky start.  We left later than we anticipated due to R working late and not pre-packing the jeep earlier.  Then we stopped to use the washroom and found out the jeep was leaking oil from the rear diff and then every place in that town was closed.  When we finally got there it was dark and getting cool.  Setting up the tent in the dark wasn't fun, but we managed to shake it off and start fresh Saturday morning.  R took my nephew B fishing, so cute. 


We could see this view from our chairs around the firepit.  I love BC.  So beautiful.


Chiquita came too!  She's starting to be quite the little camper.  This was at the start of the trip, she had her bed and she could look out the windows so she was happy. 


R was pretending to be annoyed at my picture taking.  Lol.  I've starting bringing my camera with me everywhere and taking pictures whenever possible.  I got some good ones this weekend.


I'm a bit mad I didn't get a picture of my sisters and I this year.  We took this one last year in someone's tent, although I'm not sure who, lol. 


Although I did get one of some sisters!  My SIL on the left and my sister on the right. 

Matching toe rings.  That you can't really see, haha.

B and his snake.  He played with it.  All. Day. Long.  For hours.  He was so careful with it too.  He was very gentle and wanted to keep it. 


Little K.  She's had the nickname Bam-Bam (Flintstones anyone?) forever, but this weekend she adopted the name Pig-Pen and oh my, was she ever. 


She was happy when she was in the dirt.  Clean clothes?  Nope.  In her jammies, in clothes, no shoes or with shoes, she was filthy all weekend.  And quite happy.


As was my dog.  Rolling in the dirt or sleeping in it.  She loves the sun!


R cooking in his silly camping hat.  Good thing it's only a camping hat.  The man never wears hats but he wore this one the whole time we were there. 

And possibly one of my favorite photos from the weekend, some loves with mommy. 

We got home late on Sunday, tired and dirty.  It was a good thing I was off Monday.  There was a ton of laundry to do and unpacking.  I also had to get an oil change and go to the lawyer for the 3rd time to have the mortgage papers signed.  I hope that is final soon.  Ugh.

Back to work today and it should be a good week.  I have enough to keep me busy and some stuff that will feel great to cross off the to-do list. 

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

What I'm loving Wednesday



Linking up with Jamie for another edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday.


I'm a bit all over the map today. Work is hectic and I'm trying very hard to get some of my most time sensitive work done. This is the first day in months that I've been able to focus on my work and not filling in for someone.


I'm lovin' that for sure!





I'm loving my dog, Chiquita, because let's face it, she's super cute! This is her cuddling with me before bed last night. I let her into bed for a bit before I go to sleep and she always gets very excited and tries to lay on my face, lol. And give me doggy hugs.

I'm loving (and excited) to go camping this weekend.

Lack of photos this week...Not lovin that.

However, my present to you is a list of my current fave blogs!!  In random order:

Diary of a reporter

A Fabulous Disaster

Confessions of a 20 something

Joyful Ramblings

The Inner Circle

My Twenties Blog

Dancing with Sunshine

Living a barefoot and crazy lifestyle

A complete waste of makeup

A babbling brunette

The glamorous life of a housewife

Enjoying the small things

All in my twenties

Carly Chubby Cheeks

There, your welcome!

And if I missed someone, sorry!  And if you read me and your not on the list, leave a comment and I'll come check you out!!

Happy Wednesday!


Monday, August 15, 2011

Joyride

Yesterday we went cruisin'.  In the jeep.  No doors, no roof.  Had a FANTASTIC time.  Was such fun!

I have no time to write about it, but here are a few pics :)  Happy Monday!


And for some stupid reason, blogger won't let me turn the photo sideways...grrrrr....

Thursday, August 11, 2011

It's ok...



Today I'm linking up with Neely for It's ok Thursday.  I'm a bit off today so this one is short.

It's ok...

...that I'm cranky when I'm sick, like right now.

...to not be able to start my workday without reading a few blogs.

...to be reading several books at one time, depending on my mood.

...to not want to come into work this Sunday.

...that when I'm sick I like to watch corny chick flick movies and insist that R watch with me.

...to look forward to fall and putting away the shorts and pulling out my sweaters.

...to want to go back to bed.  Right.  Now.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesday


Today I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for another week of What I'm Loving Wednesday. 


(Sorry for the crap-tastic picture) I'm not feeling very well this week.  I'm fighting off a cold.  In the process my Chiweenie, Chiquita has been cuddly with me.  Here she is watching me cook.  This is her perch, I swear she thinks she is half feline. 



I'm new to the Big Bang Theory.  We've just started recording it and I've only watched a handful of shows.  I really find it funny.  I love the DVR as well, so easy to use.  I love skipping the commercials and that I can watch whenever I want.  How did I live without this for so long??



I love my blue strappy sandals.  They are super comfy and I get a ton of compliments on them.  Bonus - again my love for crackle nail polish!



Raspberries and Saskatoon berries from our yard.  I'm picking a ton of raspberries every night.  As in a 10 cup bowl.  We have a ton of them!  I'm past the eating them stage, haha and I'm just freezing them.  We made jelly with the Ming Cherries from the Cherry tree so we might do the same with the other berries.  Yum!



Photo Credit I'm meeting up with my sisters and ESM sometime this month to make homemade salsa, I can't wait!  Love my girls weekends.


I found this chunk of cheese with a bite mark in my fridge last week.  It made me laugh.  I'm assuming that when my sister was visiting my 2 year old niece went shopping in the fridge, lol.


My cricut!  I love this machine.  I still am not fully sure how to use it, but I need to make a display for a career fair and I plan on bringing it to work with me in the coming weeks so I can use it to make the display POP. 

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Random Thoughts

I should be sleeping...but I can't.

I have thoughts in my head that keep me awake.  Frustrations, hurts and confusions.  Emotional outbursts that lay awake yelling at me and won't let me sleep.

My family is in a crisis right now.  I am fine, it's not me.  However, I hurt for those involved.  I won't go into detail on such a public space for privacy of those involved, but I hurt for them.  I cry for them.  I pray and wish I could change things, but I can't.  All I can do is show my support and love and be there.  It's very hard and I feel like there is a hole inside me.  R doesn't understand how I'm feeling and I have no ways to explain it to him.

I feel a bit more emotional that usual lately and he is shorter on patience that usual.  Which of course leads to arguments or squabbles over senseless things.  Tonight for example:

R: What do you want to do tomorrow?

Me: What do you mean?

R: I have enough to keep me busy all day so if you want some downtime on your last day off I can be in the garage.

Me: Why don't we do our stuff until noon and then do something together?  Spend some time together?

R: What do you want to do?

Me:  I dunno.  We'll figure something.

And then it goes off course from there.  Him getting all agitated because I don't know what specifically I want to do.  Me because I figure that since we've had company and been very busy lately I'm simply happy for us to spend time together, even not doing anything.

I feel unappreciated lately.  I tell him this, he sighs and gets mad.  It's frustrating as hell.  I say he doesn't clean the kitchen, he says I don't give him the chance.  I say how much time do you need, he says more than an hour after the meal.

I am emotional.  I know it, but I don't understand how he can't understand why.  He knows what's going on with my family, he knows I'm hurting, but he doesn't understand how affected I am or how I feel.  He rolls over and goes to sleep.  I lay awake with thoughts running around inside my head.

When does life get easier?

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Again this week I'm linking up with Jamie at This kind of love for WILW.  I don't usually have structure to my blog but I seem to be getting way more visitors this way, so I'll keep it up.  Plus it's fun!!



I'm loving my holidays this week! Today is day 2 and I'm loving every second of it.  Yesterday I went to the University and walked and walked and walked across the building.  I picked up my textbook, my parking pass and got a student ID card.  I'm set!  I also met up quick with my sister and then picked up the photos at Costco.  I was able to start my scrapbook - which I'm also loving!!


This is the first page that I did yesterday.  I'm pretty happy with it.  Although the pictures don't do it justice I'm afraid.


Again, so hard to see.  The colors are deep brown and bronze with sparkles and shimmer to them.  But you get the general idea.




I am absolutely loving my new workspace!   It seriously rocks!  I can walk away from the mess and not have to worry about cleaning off the table before supper.  I should have done this a long time ago!

I'm also loving my new distressing tool.  It's called Imaginisce and it does all the work for you!  2 pages up, with the lion on the bottom right corner, those edges are distressed - again, hard to see but it looks really cool.

Last night I baked up some Raspberry Bran Muffins - yum!


And super easy!  Including cooking time I was finished in a half hour.  I love easy.

I'm taking advantage of extra time to do some new or more involved cooking this week.  Last night I made a meatloaf and it wasn't too bad.  The flavor was good, but it needed more oomph.  Luckily I know how to do that, lol.

Tonight I'm not sure what's on the menu.  I'm kinda thinking Thai Coconut Chicken, but I might do that tomorrow as it's quite easy.  I think it's time for lunch though however, lol.  All this talk of supper has made me hungry!

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Monday, August 1, 2011

Progress

Today I decided to tackle the scrapbooking mess.  I say mess because it was all contained to appear like it was organized and put away.  It looked like this before:


It actually looked ok.  I didn't know where anything was, but it was contained in my travel case, a rolling set of drawers and a few baskets and boxes.  The plastic drawers on the left were given to me by my sister 2 weeks ago.  I opened everything up and it looked like this for awhile...


 It was a bit daunting...however, I tossed a bunch of stuff I won't use and stuff that was given to me.  I was able to clean it up in a few hours and now it looks like this:


The picture is a bit blurry...oops, guess I was just so excited lol.  Anyhow I know where most things are too! It's fully sorted and my travel cases are empty.  So I can use them for travelling, not storage.  I'm super excited to work in this space now!  I ordered a ton of pictures from Costco online on Sunday, not realizing they are closed for the holiday today.  So they will be ready tomorrow by noon.  And I'll be able to get started on my project.  I have almost 2 full days to work on it.  I still have to deal with this mess:


But it's only ribbon and nothing in the box, so I just need to think of a better system.  I have a ribbon bag, but that is more for short pieces not 10000 yards lol.  Although I love how pretty it looks and it is super useful for shorter lengths, it's just not practical for anything over 1 yard:


I need something like this:


Although a dowel would work just fine too.  Now that I don't need to keep my stuff as mobile, it's a lot easier to set up.

Apparently today was a scrapbooking tour!  I love organization.