More pictures

I should have taken more pictures than I did but here are a couple of the fam...

My son Andrew and his girl, Julie.

I told them all that if they don't let me take their picture when I ask, then I just won't ask...


If only he could talk!

When you ignore the cat on Christmas Day....

He places himself in the middle of what you are doing, gives you the stink-eye, and double-dog dares you to keep ignoring him.

Review over - making plans for next year =)

So I had my annual review and it was fine - lasted about 2 minutes...lol After five years, he knows me. He looked over my evaluation sheet and his first comment was "why did you give yourself a 3 on quality of work? You're much better than that..." Blushing, I replied that I didn't want to boost myself too much and that I had found it difficult to be objective about my own performance. He said..."not me, I would have given myself all 5's" then laughed. I told him that that was what Dave said and we had a good laugh again. We didn't really discuss anything else, just moved on to the next person. The others did take longer but really, I get feedback from him everyday - and there is never a doubt that when something is not done properly, he will let me know. He has only sort of got on me for something 2x in the last five years so I guess he knows I strive to please. Next year I might just walk in there with all 5's just to see what he says!

But you know, striving to please others can also be detrimental. You can get so wrapped up in keeping the peace that the important facets of a situation can get lost. Another recent difficult situation that I have been tackling logically (and spiritually) just won't resolve and has continued to escalate. I have been praying to God to help me stop trying to control the situation and find a solution that will work.

I have been beating myself up personally over this. I told Dave yesterday that I better give myself a "2" on problem solving because I cannot get this put to rest! But, he reminded me that people are people and we can only do so much ourselves and that God will get us through it. He's so smart =)

Challenges of the decade

I was given two of the most challenging assignments in my career in one afternoon.

The first is a new project to manage - just a different type which I am actually excited about.

The second is that I have to review myself. This isn't a self-evaluation where I give my own thoughts on what I do well and where I need improvement to impress my manager - that's a separate document. This is for my annual review (raise...) that has to be from the perspective of my manager and will be put in my permanent file.

How do you do something like this objectively? Is this a test of my character? I don't want to pump myself up too much but I also don't want to dull it down too much. My boss just says: "Give yourself a good review." The questions are like this: degree of accuracy, thoroughness - ability to resolve issues and make appropriate decisions - ability to work/cooperate with others. I believe that I am adequate in these areas but am I a "3" (meets expectations) or am I a "4" (meets expectations and often goes beyond expectations)?? If I put a 4, is that an ego call? If I put a 3 am I not giving myself enough credit? I always try to go beyond but... what a conundrum!

Dave said I should just put all as a "5" (Outstanding), the highest ranking, and be done with it... Of course, although he is my biggest supporter, he has to say that =) And, I appreciate it.

To All Who Helped...

I hope that I found you and thanked you personally but in case I missed someone during the hectic rush Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning -

Thank you so much for all the work you did at our Christmas Workshop! Karen, Susan, Sarah, Christine, Diana, Lynn, Erin, Dave, Jared - you are all so superb-fantastic. I am in awe.

I worried that no one would show-up but right at 4:00, families came bursting through the doors, ready for some fun. And I really believe they had fun! The kids were smiling, covering the tables with glue and stickers, and begging to play the tossing games just "one more time." Even the Build A Snowman turned out to be a fun and interesting activity for them (I was unsure if it would even work...)

We reached out to the community and they responded. Now we just need to grow bigger arms!

Bedbugs...ewwwww but cool

I learned something new today - an Orkin guy in my office building gave me the 411 on bedbugs. Yep, it was an "ewwww" and "cool" session!

I asked about the infestation reported on the news and he did confirm that Cincinnati is full of the little critters - the news reports aren't lying! He showed me a live adult bug (in a sealed vial) and I spent some time looking at it. If you can imagine a flat tick, that's what it looked like. Apparently they only turn brown after feeding...the ewwww part. But, they are quite the clever little thing, flattening themselves to fit even in seams of quilting.

The cool part is that because the infestation is so bad in Cincinnati, they are giving him a dog that can find bedbugs. That is fascinating to me. How can a dog sniff out a bedbug?

After talking I have to admit that I had the "heeby geebies" and was itching here and there. And, I am going home tonight and checking the spots where he said they like to hide. I have no reason to suspect that we have them but I just want to be sure. Paranoid.

One word of advice - these pests don't just hang out in the "bad" homes! Anybody can get them from anywhere! (hospitals, doctor's offices, office bldgs) He mentioned that when people get together for the holidays, they come to your house and take their coats off...and lay the coats on your bed. Tonight I am also buying a coat tree.

Tree Angels

We have a Salvation Army Angel Tree at work. We put tags on it of children in need and then employees choose an "angel" and donate a gift to that child. The true angels are the people who choose a tag. I have been checking on the tags to make sure they are all chosen and they have been!

Today, our tree is bursting with donated/requested gifts. I can't tell you how emotional it made me to see such an abundance of giving. There is everything from clothes to playsets to books and even bicycles! I am sure that my family is not the only one struggling with buying Christmas gifts this year but somehow, these people found a way to provide another's child with gifts. This is the first year that all the tags were taken from the tree.

We put up three angel trees in Cincinnati and all three have been emptied of tags and filled with joy. Blessings are everywhere!

Parenting 102: Hindsight 20/20

Don't you wish kids came with an instruction booklet? There's nothing more difficult then trying to decide the best path to take when it comes to your kids. There are just too many scenarios to mention!

My parents stunk (stink) at being parents. They had so much animosity between them that everything had to be a battle and blame-fest. You can imagine... Good things were taken credit for by both, not-so-good things blamed on the other. As an adult, I realized that my parents expected me to handle situations like an adult when I was still a kid. This has been one of the biggest influences for me with my kids. When we have a difficult situation, whether it is something they are going through personally or something we are dealing with as a divorced-parents family, I have weighed carefully their age and maturity in any decision-making. I would not expect them, even as teenagers, to make an adult decision by themselves.

Your kids need you at every age (even as adults!) When they are small, they need us to set their boundaries. When they are teenagers, they need us to set their boundaries. I think the hardest part about when they are older is that you can't just reach over and pick them up and out of the mud puddle -- You have to let them wade over to you first...otherwise you end up in the puddle too =)

If only we had an instruction booklet..but where's the fun in that?