Clearly I lost the 'blog every day for a month' challenge this time

Yes, it's true.
Once again NaBloPoMo has brought me to my bloggy knees.

I blame no one but myself for this failure.
It's all my fault.

I really was trying to be successful ... but as is always the case, life got in the way of my best blogging intentions. Which is really silly to me, since my blog is all about my LIFE. And all the craziness that happens in my life.

So what really happened to lead me to fail at NaBloPoMo?

Well, let's see. Things got a bit "weird" at the job. I became disillusioned with some things and some people. Then I went to Disney for a few days for a social media celebration and while I have at least four blog posts that I NEED to write about the events, I am still processing everything and have yet to write a word.

Oh and then I got sick.
With bronchitis.
Again.

I knew last week that something was amiss....my throat was so sore (which for me is always an indication of bronchitis right around the corner). I "toughed it out" on Thursday. Called off sick from work on Friday. Suffered Saturday and Sunday. And finally called the doctor today - and took another sick day. At first she thought it was pneumonia. But after a breathing treatment in the office, it was determined that it was just a 'serious case' of bronchitis.

And now I'm on antibiotics, prescription cough medicine and an inhaler.
I'm exhausted and have zero energy.

So....blogging is going to have to wait until I feel better.

But I promise my posts about the Social Media Moms Celebration will be worth the wait. The entire event was so magical...I can't wait to share!

Friends

I wasn't sure if I'd get a blog post in tonight as I had some other matters that needed my attention, but then my phone rang at 8 p.m.

It was one of my very dear friends.
And it was a welcome surprise to hear her voice.

We ended up talking for more than 90 minutes and it was so wonderful to be able to "just talk."

I was lucky enough to spend some time with her last week at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration - but as is always the case....it wasn't nearly enough time.

And so, going back to the theme for this month's NaBloPoMo - one word every day - today's word would have to be friends.

I made some wonderful new friends at #DisneySMMoms and had the chance to catch up with "old" friends - and they all hold a very special place in my heart.

Whether we are tweeting, texting, or talking on the phone ... my friends are an incredible source of inspiration, humor and support.

Thank you for being my friends.

So much for one word, one post per day

Yes, it appears I've failed in my NaBloPoMo quest for March.

But I have a good "excuse."

I just spent the last few days at Walt Disney World for Disney's Social Media Moms Celebration.

I will be writing all about my adventures in the next few days.

Perhaps that will make up for the lack of posting?

Five question Friday!

OK. So, I'm supposed to be picking "one word" and running with it each day as my blog post inspiration.

Certain events at the office today have left me with many "choice" words - none of which I am going to repeat here.

Therefore, I am foregoing the "one word" theme today and participating in Five Question Friday instead.

Here we go ...

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?
Funny you should ask, since I'm going tomorrow for my color and highlights. But yes, I do know. My "real" hair color is a very dull, dark brown. With a lot of gray added in. It isn't that pretty. Which is why I have it colored red/brown with caramel highlights.

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?
Um...I guess we don't really plan much. Except for this summer. We're going to Disney World (shocking, I know). But other than that we'll just "fly by the seat of our pants" for the rest of the summer. Lots of mini road trips, visits to the zoo, and pool time. That's about it.

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?
I really don't have a favorite meal to cook. I like to bake .. but that doesn't really count, I guess.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving "thank yous"?
Not truly "offended" ... but I do wonder if people have lost their manners completely when they can't take a few minutes out of their day to say 'thank you' - even if it's just an e-mail.

5. How did you meet your best friend?
I consider my husband to be my "best" friend and we met online. Yes, that's right. I met my husband via online dating. And it was love at first sight. [Other friends - I met one of my best girl friends when we were 5 years old and she lived across the street from us. We're still friends to this day.]


And there you have it.
Want to join in the fun?
Link up here at "My Little Life".

And for Thursday....I have nothing

No words today.
And yes, I "skipped" yesterday because I was out of town for the job.
So maybe I'm sort of "failing" this whole NaBloPoMo thing for March.
But I'm trying at least.....

Oh wait.

I do have a word.

Wussy: n. Slang. A person regarded as weak or timid and especially as unmanly.

That word was directed at me today.
In a workplace atmosphere.

Yeah.
That's how my day started at 9 a.m.

It didn't get much better after that.

On Tuesday....exhaustion

It's true.
I'm tired.

It seems to be more than physically tired.
I think I'm mentally tired.

The job is exhausting me mentally.
So much office politics, so little time to really care.

Tomorrow I have to go out of town for the job.

Because I'm a wimp and I hate driving alone to this particular part of the state, Kevin is going with me.
And we're taking Emma.
And staying overnight.
My meeting is first thing Thursday morning, so if we didn't go tomorrow I'd have to get up and 4 a.m. Thursday and be on the road by 5 a.m.
Alone.
In the dark.

I am less than thrilled about all of it.

And tonight, I'm just tired.

Exhausted.

Going to bed.
At 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night.

Life of the party, that's me.

On Monday ....

So, today was the start of a new week at the job.
I tried to be optimistic.

It wasn't easy.

But the day went on without "incident" .. for the most part.

Things were going swimmingly, until tonight at about 8:15.

That's when I walked into the kitchen and smelled something awful.
Imagine a mix of hot metal, melted plastic and chemicals.

We determined it was the dishwasher.

We called GE (because it's a GE dishwasher) and told them about the smell. And I might have mentioned that I'm mildly freaking out thinking my kitchen is going to fill with smoke and flames. They said they could have a repairman out on Monday. NEXT Monday.

Great.

So, we called a local "appliance repair" company that has 27-4 service with no extra fees for "emergencies."

Their repairman will be here in 20 minutes.

Today's word: efficiency.

Thank you, appliance repairman, for coming to our aide even if it is 9:35 on a Monday night.

Although, my kitchen still smells (we did turn off the breaker for the dishwasher) and I fear we'll be buying a new dishwasher (there's $400 I wasn't planning on spending!)....I am happy that someone is efficient tonight.

Now...let's just hope he can "fix" whatever the problem is with this stupid dishwasher.

Weekend

The weekend is never long enough.

In an ideal world (i.e. - where I was in charge), the weekend would be four days long and the workweek would be only three days.

Then maybe I would actually have time to relax on the weekends.

It's 6:15 on Sunday night as I type this and aside from the hour I spent reading the Sunday paper this morning, this is the first time I've sat down all day.

Between laundry, washing the floors, putting laundry away, paying bills, cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen and various other "duties" (ha!) .... I have been on the go all day. Yesterday was no different - delivering GS cookies, grocery shopping, more laundry (seriously, it really never ends) and trying to make some sense of the chaos in my house - I had a few chances to 'sit down' yesterday - at Mass and at dinner.

Yes, it sounds like I'm complaining.
And I am, sort of.
I do understand that I'm lucky to have my family and our house and all the "chores" and craziness that go along with it.
But every now and then I just want some time to relax.
Time to sit and read a magazine.
Time to "hang out" with the kids.

Maybe I just need more than 24 hours in a day.
Maybe you can relate?

Saturday....snow

Mother Nature is such a tease.

It was warm(er) yesterday and rainy.
Today, it rained, and rained, and then rained some more.
The snow melted ... for the most part.

And then tonight...that rain turned to sleet.
The sleet turned to snow.

We now have about 1 inch of snow on the ground.
Again.

I swear winter is never going to end.

Friday's word - Thankful

This has been one heck of a week.
And not in a good way.
Just read the last few posts and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
It was a DOOZY.

So today, I am thankful that it is Friday.

I'm thankful that I get to spend the next two days with my husband and my daughters, just being a family.
No work drama.
No work stress.
No rushing around to fit everything in before bedtime.

Thankful for some "down" time.

I'm also thankful that my husband understands me so well.

He knows - without asking - that the best way to make this whole week disappear is to say to me "So, what do you want from Cold Stone? I'm going right now."

I love that man of mine.


(As a side note: you know how the more you write a word, the stranger it looks and then finally you think "I must be spelling it wrong because those letters just don't seem to go together?" Yeah. That just happened to me as I wrote this post. Did that ever happen to you? What? No? Am I crazy?)

The word of the day - Annoyed

So, it's been one of "those" weeks.

I have been doing my best to stay positive...but today was the third day this week that I've been reduced to tears in my office.

That annoys me.

I hate crying at work.
It's stupid.
It's ridiculous.
It's not professional.
It makes me feel stupid.

But sometimes it can't be avoided.

This week was one of those times.

I'm not going into detail about it.
But let's just say people did and said things that were unprofessional, unacceptable and I'm not OK with any of it.

I'm annoyed.
And irritated.
And disappointed.

I keep telling myself "just keep swimming" (you know, in the words of the great philosopher Dory)...but this week I was swimming against the current.

And I'm exhausted.

I'm so happy tomorrow is Friday.
I promise to have a more positive word tomorrow.

....just keep swimming, swimming, swimming....

In a word

OK, I know it's March 2 - so technically I'm already behind with the whole NaBloPoMo posting every day thing....but, I'm doing it anyway.

Today's post will cover yesterday and today - in a word or two - so in my book that counts.

Don't argue with me.
I'm right.

This month's NaBloPoMo theme is "in a word" - so, we are supposed to choose a word to build a post around or describe our day in one word. Something like that.

And I think I can totally do this.

Let's give it a whirl.

My week so far can be summed up with these words:

Exhausting.
Stressful.
Happy.
Sad.
Disappointing.
Revealing.
Frustrating.

It was exhausting being a "single" parent for a few nights. The job is stressing me out beyond belief. I was happy to see my husband when he came home from his business trip. The job made me sad and reduced me to tears two days in a row. I was (and still am) very disappointed in several people and their actions. Those same people revealed their true nature to me and I can only shake my head in total disbelief. And lastly, I am frustrated that something I thought was a good thing has turned out to be anything but.