Usually I get to work early; before everyone else. I unlock the admin suite and let myself in to begin the day. It's best this way. I get a lot done before the chaos begins.

This morning the head of Cooperative Extension, Jan, came in shortly after me. She just stopped by my office and told me she hears wonderful things about me. She said extension officers are constantly telling her how sweet and smart I am.

I have to tell you friends, this is a much better start to a morning than yesterday. And I feel so good about myself right now. Work has been quite strenuous and to hear someone say such kind things really has made my day. Passing along words of kindness is something people need to do more often. How blessed I am to work in an environment where even the higher ups will go out of their way to pass along kind words. =o)

Labels: work

When work overwhelms me, or really when anything does, I get this shooting pain down the back of my head, neck and through my right shoulder. I've seen a doctor, I know it is stress related. Working on a computer all day long I have carpal tunnel going on and that also causes more tension in my arms anyway. The combination ends up being quite painful at times, enough so that it will wake me up and then I can't fall back asleep. Sure they gave me muscle relaxers and such but I really don't like using them because they make me so groggy.

Any tips friends? Claudia gave me great tips on allergy suffering so I know y'all have remedies. Dish 'em out. The allergies are still being wicked, but I'm coping. I think more than anything I'm just exhausted from them. I mean even without taking medicine there is something about having bad allergies that makes you tired. Refer to the scene in the Wizard of Oz with the poppies. "Something with poison in it, but attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell. Poppies..." Oh you know.

Also I'd like to announce that Braeden has been eating a wider variety of foods over the last couple weeks. My friend Barb sort of drilled it into me that I need to be firmer and most importantly utterly consistent. Brae knows me too well, he'll push all the right buttons and break me down. You have seen how cute he is so I know you understand.

We have grilled dinner two nights recently. One night turkey burgers and the other night lemon pepper chicken. Both nights Braeden ate the entire portion he was given. AND he ate his vegetables! He has been surprising the heck out of me. Brian has enjoyed grilling and I'm enjoying eating the meals. They are healthier and so delicious! Plus I love the smell of food grilling. Yum-o!

Yesterday we went to the local park after I picked him up from day care. He rode his bike, I walked next to him with Mya. Brae still has training wheels and man does he fly. We ended up going 1.2 miles maybe a bit more. And so he ended up sleeping through the night!

My Etsy store has sold a few more things since my last post about the online shop. I feel I have hit a plateau though. Ah well, I enjoy sewing, it feels good to complete a project and be proud.

Back to rubbing my shoulder. Happy Wednesday!

Labels: brae, brian, diet, satan aka pollen, work

Yes, this interactive map is finally complete!

I know I don't normally talk about my "real" work on this site, but this map was a pain in my arse. Just because when working with faculty there is a lot of down time. They have hundreds of other things to do and so communicating is difficult. Plus, I don't know enough about the gardens to really do this without instructions on positioning. But now it's finished until more flowers begin to bloom!

Woohoo!

Labels: work

9:05 a.m. on a Thursday morning.

Yesterday it was 60 degrees in the morning...today it was 34 degrees.

There is a lot of work to be done so I made it to work early. The server crashed. We still cannot get to our files or e-mail and I have not been able to get any work done.

Underneath my office a new audio system is being installed. It requires new wiring. They have been drilling into the ceiling (my floor) for the last 35 minutes. The entire office is shaking.

And now they are hammering.

Did I mention I went to bed and woke up with a sinus headache?

Labels: life, work

Today is December 20, 2007 and you can still get two-day free shipping if you are an Amazon Prime customer. =o) Or over-night shipping for $1.99 what a steal. For me that means still wanting to get more little things for my family. When it comes the holidays the best thing for me is giving gifts. I put a lot of thought into gifts and always get excited because I can't wait to see how the receiver likes them...or in some cases, doesn't like them. Usually I'm pretty good at being on par with their tastes though.

This is our first Christmas in our own home, our first Christmas as husband and wife and our first Christmas as a family. We have had our decorations up for nearly a month and it still hasn't gotten old. Every time I drive up the street and see all the lights it makes me smile. And I love sitting in the family room just to be near the lit Christmas tree.

In other news, I have such a wicked headache today. I'm not sure why. The weather isn't rainy and I have eaten. Perhaps it is just because we're nearing the end of the work week and this old pup is tired. (Yes, I'm just a pup, but even pups can feel old).

Chris bought me an Emily the Strange calendar for Christmas. I love it! She apparently bought it off my wish list and I had no idea! Tomorrow is her birthday and she is taking off so I won't see her again until the new year. This will definitely become posters for my office. My Tinkerbell calendar is already hanging, I cut out each of the months and they border the top of the wall to the left of my desk. I also have an "Of Montreal" poster, a "Cat Power" poster and a Strangeling poster....and of course my Emily the Strange poster. I think the only reason I can pull off such crazy decor is because I am a designer. ;oP

Well now back to work. Happy Thursday!

Labels: christmas, emily strange, work

We work at the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources.

Carrie wanted to have a picnic for lunch.

Christy: dials Carrie's number

Carrie: Carrie Finnie.

Christy: You're going to need to vacate the premises.

Carrie: Where are you?

Christy: At a red light outside the field house.

Carrie: To the shit pile? (she claims she didn't say the "s" word)

Christy: laughing Yes.

Carrie: I'll see you there.

The picnic table is under a tree. To our right is a parking lot. To our left is a man whi HUGE hair driving a fertilizer machine, shooting little green pellets out of the back. Carrie exclaims "He better not pellet me."

Behind us are trees. In front of us is the manure pile at the dairy farm.

Perfect place to picnic!

Labels: carrie, work

For the upteenth time this season, I missed Big Brother. Now it wouldn't upset me had last night not been the last show. Evil Dick ended up winning and I didn't get to see it.

Ah well, I suppose there are worst things.

I ended up falling asleep on Braeden's floor. I woke up at 2:30 a.m., took some Sudafed and was going to play WoW since I was awake, but then I heard the pitter patter of Braeden feet. He won't stay in his room. It's like something sets of a response in his body as soon as I leave the room. How does he even know I have left? Must be some sort of spidey sense. I don't know.

There is still so much to do at the house. By the beginning of October we should have furniture in each room, but who knows, the stores keep messing up our delivery dates. I would NEVER buy from Rooms Today again, I'll tell you that much.

Work is pretty busy, there are a lot of projects on my plate and they all seem to be pretty programming intensive. It's okay, but it takes me a while to work out the kinks. You know?

Planning for the wedding is going well. The girls are all measured and their dresses will be ordered soon. The color I wanted is available, so they will be wearing chocolate and I think they will all look smashing. My Mom and I went to see a photographer on Sunday and a contract was signed. That is a relief. We all went to the Chesapeake Inn and picked out cake flavors, colors, tiers, etc. Invitations went out and people are receiving them already, the mail seems to be quick when there is a wedding invitation involved. I don't know when the guys plan on getting measured and picking out a tux, but I just might take Braeden myself and make sure he is all set. One less thing for me to have on my mind that way.

My health has been suffering due to lack of sleep I think. And plus I'm having some trouble with a cyst. Bah! It's very painful. I'm not sure if you know it or not, but think about a sensitve place on or in your body and imagine someone sticking it in a vice and squeezing it. Yep.

The weather is getting cooler. I love this time of year. I painted my nails black yesterday. They look great if I do say so myself. If I hadn't been in a rush I would have put my red hair clip in...I'm feeling the need to be a little bit goth lately. Maybe not a need, but a desire. Perhaps it reflects my current state of mind. I wish I could find more

Carrie, Danielle and I went to Borders yesterday. I bought Braeden two new Halloween books. Very exicitng. Brae and I love this time of year and I can't wait to decorate. But I will wait, at least until the first week of October. People might end up thinking we're freaks, but we're not. We're just strange and not afraid to be different.

Okay with all that said I should probably just get back to PHP.

Labels: brae, house, life, work

I just found out that before Toby left for Portland today he was able to stop in Newark and have lunch with the crew. However, they apparently decided NOT to invite me! Danielle, Carrie, Chris and Keane all went without me.

WHY!

Why would they do that? I feel like a spoiled blubbering brat right now, but I am so upset.

Labels: work

I have to tell you, I think I might like the day before Friday more than Friday itself. Thursdays are the promise for your Friday. Thursdays are your hope day. The day you know you're gonna make it. =o)

Anywho. I'm reading that China is finally letting the US FDA Food inspectors come over to see why so much dog food has been tainted. At first the refused admittance, but now they are saying the FDA is welcome to come and "exchange ideas." Sounds to me like they needed time to cover up the scandal and clean up their mess. Figures.

Ag Day is this weekend. It's a huge deal, a big event for the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources. I'm hoping to attend with Brae and hopefully Brian, but I'm really concerned about how I'll feel since my allergies are so wicked bad and the CANR is a pollen haven.

I've decided I want to adopt all the orphans in South Africa. Yep. All 50,000 of them. I can't stand knowing the condition that exist over there. Even contributing to the charities, I still feel like I should be doing so much more.

Braeden is doing alright. I'm pleased by this because two of the children in his daycare have been sick this week. So for him to be holding his own is absolutely wonderful!

Labels: brae, life, news, work

UD is going to now have a user group just for web developers. Brand spanking new and I'm on the committee. Our first meeting was this morning. You should have heard all of us talking about different styles and code. It was so much fun!

The group is going to be called Delaware Web Developers and the acronym is DEWD.
Haha, oh dear. Just think, I'm actually excited about this!

At first I was nervous because I had to go up to main campus and venture into Smith Hall. I knew I wouldn't know anyone and I figured I would be the youngest. I was right on both accounts. Once I finally sucked it up and started responding and giving to the conversation it ended up being a nerd blast!

Yay!

Labels: work