All Grown Up (Sort of)

March 16, 2013 ~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

When did I first feel grown up?

When I traveled for the first time on official business.

Airplane Landing

I contacted one of our government contractors in St. Louis. I ordered products (digitized maps) from them and had a hard a time figuring out which ones we needed. My agenda was to tour their operations and give them comments about the trouble I had with ordering the correct maps. We needed them to make a product catalog that made sense.

So, I arranged a meeting to tour their operations and provide feedback. My host asked me to talk to his employees about how our team used the products they made. I told them I would be happy to. Yikes! Now I had to write a presentation. Things were getting a bit complicated.

I scheduled the trip to coincide with my St. Louis cousin’s wedding. My dad called this kind of thing – a “double-dookie”. He would have been so proud. This also saved my boss the hotel and parking costs by staying at my BFF’s place.

The day I flew into St. Louis I made my BFF and her son ride with me into the city and back. I knew I would be less nervous tomorrow if I practiced today. The trial run went well and we made it home in time for supper.

After a sleepless night, I gulped coffee, triple checked my briefcase and asked BFF to pray for me – and off I went. I left early because I figured there would be massive commuter traffic, like in San Francisco. There wasn’t. So I’m an hour early.

I think I caused a bit of a panic for my host, but he was gracious and welcoming in spite of my early arrival. The agenda for the day was to meet with operations and see the catalog and graphics they were working on. Then lunch. My presentation would be the grand finale. Great.

I am the kind of person who prefers to “get things over with”. Especially things that are ~~freaking~~ causing me stress. I had 1/2 a salad for lunch because my stomach was full of butterflies.

The conference room was packed.

Everyone in operations wanted to hear my presentation. They were even excited about it. Later, I found out that I was the first person to visit and show them how we incorporated their digitized maps into our computer software.

I could not believe how well my presentation went. Afterwards it felt like a press conference with all the questions the audience asked. I knew the answers to most of them. Some I promised to get back to once I returned home and asked the computer scientists.

I ended up having fun. In fact, I even started to feel like a savvy business woman. My confidence and ego swelled like my ankles on a hot day. I thought I was so awesome.

Until I got totally lost on the way home 😉

Sh*t Happens

March 15, 2013 ~ JodiLea ~ 4 Comments

Whoever came up with the “Sh*t Happens” logo has to know us.

It’s been awhile since I have posted. Sh*t Happened. Again.

Last week, we were out-of-town attending a funeral. While visiting with family over the weekend, hubby’s retina started to detach itself from his left-eye. He suspected this may be happening, because his other retina detached eight-years ago, and you tend to remember crap like that.

He had an emergency exam by a local Ophthalmologist, who told us that we needed to get hubby home and into surgery, ASAP.

A dilemma because I can’t drive his big-assed truck. Well… I suppose I could drive it, but it would be like “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”. I have very little depth perception and a deep-seated fear of driving in places I don’t know. My sense of direction is so bad that even with my GPS unit, “Tom”, I still manage to get myself lost.

Hubby’s sister, my hero, saved our butts by driving us home (a nine-hour drive). She drove all day Sunday, and on Monday she drove us to Stockton and then to Sacramento where the retinal surgery center was.

It was a tricky surgery – his detached retina had 5 rips in it. His surgeon explained to us hubby’s eye was filled with oil, to help keep the retina in place while it healed. In 3-4 months they will remove the oil during his second surgery.

Say WHAT??? Monday’s surgery will cause a cataract to grow in his eye. How lovely. Something to look forward to this summer.

Once home, we tucked hubby into bed. The retinal re-attachment surgery is the first step to healing. Now hubby has to lay face down 3-5 days to keep the oil floating against the retina to make it heal in place. His back already is killing him from being in that position.

So – hubby’s hurting, sleep deprived, and bored out of his mind. Can’t read or watch TV. No morning walks. He is also suffering withdrawal from his Sudoku puzzle addiction. This is not a happy time for him. Or his wife.

Oh man, is he grumpy!

To compound his grumpiness, I keep ~~nagging~~ reminding him to keep his head bent down, and annoying him by trying to anticipate his every need. I’m probably on his last nerve, and it’s only post-op day 3.

Yet – he wants to go to the Post Office with me tomorrow. ‘Just to get out of the house’, he says. I know it’s really because he thinks I’ll get lost. I may not have driven in this town or anywhere since last July when we moved in.

However, I think I can find my way down the mountain better than a blind guy. Then again, sh*t happens.

OMG! People Are Actually Reading My Blog

March 9, 2013 ~ JodiLea

LiebsterAward-2

I’m very excited to be nominated for my 2nd Liebster Blog award!

I was nominated for this award by Shimmering In The Dark, (I’m sorry I don’t know her name, but she’s a cool Canadian gal studying Photography)

Please visit her blog via the link above 😉

You are probably thinking, what is this? It is an award for bloggers who are nominated by others as their favorite blogs. These blogs must have less than 200 followers and it comes with a number of rules:

Post eleven facts about yourself
Answer the questions posed by your nominator
Pass the award on to eleven new recipients
Pose eleven new questions to your bloggers

Post a copy of the badge on your blog (type “Liebster Award” into Google images; you’ll find plenty to choose from). Notify nominees and include links to the originating blog, as well as the new recipients. Whew!!!

Stuff about Me

1. I have started 5 novels and finished none. Was thinking about tossing those and starting a 6th one, but after discussing this with Aunt Kitty (and cousin Dawn), decided to continue one of the original 5 I started during NaNoWriMo last November. You just don’t question wisdom from Aunt Kitty.

2. Every time I go to the San Bernardino, CA area – it snows. Even in March.

3. Lately, I spend more time reading blog posts than writing them. Such talent out there!

4. I’m getting sick of crocheting frogs.

5. I need a good nap. Strange beds and relatives make me tired.

6. I can’t wait until football season starts in August. Speaking of, I’m pissed that the 49ers fired David Akers. He should go to Kansas City with Alex Smith. Don’t get me started about that.

7. I have a yarn addiction. I only knit and crochet so I can buy more.

8. I joined a quilters guild, so now I am hoarding fabric too.

9. I miss the people I used to work with – a lot.

10. I tend to read thrillers and mysteries. And stuff my daughter recommends because she got her taste in the macabre from her mother.

11. Oh, and my granddaughters think I’m the best grandma ever 🙂

Questions asked by my nominator:

1. Does your name mean anything? My mom liked the name of the little boy in The Yearling, so I became Jodi. At least she spelled it the girl’s way.

2. White chocolate or dark chocolate? Both. If I absolutely had to choose – white!!

3. What was your favorite school subject? English

4. Do you have a secret celebrity crush? if so, who? Matthew Gray Gubler. I love his character, Dr. Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds). Sigh…

5. Cats or dogs? DOG’s. Always.

6. A place you’ve always wanted to go to? Tiffany’s

7. Has a movie ever made you cry? If so, which movie? This would be easier to answer if it was a movie I didn’t cry at. At the end of Forest Gump, when he’s talking to Jenny’s grave, I balled like a baby.

8. What is your dream date place? Picnic blanket, on a tropical (a.k.a. warm) beach, at sunset.

9. Do you have any regrets? Yep.

10. Do you have a best friend you can tell anything to? Yes, Thank God I have a few. Maggie and Cindy have kept me out of the booby-hatch on many occasions. We have been best friends since we were kids.

11. How do you feel about turtles? I had a pet turtle as a kid at my Grandma’s house (mom did not “do” reptiles and considered turtles were in the same family). My turtle (cannot remember his name) was fun to watch, but I yearned for a puppy I could cuddle.

OK! That’s enough about me. Now for the fun part! Click on their blogs name and go see their talents for yourself 😉

And The Nominee’s Are…..

Will you be my Therapist?

Aging and Other Inconveniences

Hag Fest

Questions for my nominees to answer:

1. How old were you when you had your first romantic kiss?

2. What was your favorite TV show – at age 12 and now?

3. Ever hit a skunk on the road? Tell us about it (or a comparable experience).

4. Your best vacation, ever – Describe it.

5. Football, Basketball or Baseball? Why?

6. Describe something you do better than everyone you know.

7. Do you agree with the Academy’s Oscar choices? Which movie would you choose for Best Picture?

8. Hairy chested men or smooth? (For the guy’s – blondes or brunettes?)

9. Are you a lover or a fighter?

10. Name something you had to learn the hard way.

11. Name a good book you’ve read recently.

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Don’t forget to send me the link to your award blog post!!! The best of luck to all 🙂