Rain, Rain, Go Away

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Halloween and it's raining out. I just realized I'm going to be late for work. And, I've got a busy busy day ahead of me. Lovely.


Cheers!
mouse

A Little Less Innocent

Dear Friends and Family,

I feel like I lost a little bit of what little innocence I have left, yesterday, at work. I had 15 minutes left to my day and an email about some mandatory compliance training I was behind on. I figured it was as good a time as any to catch up. And, that's when I clicked on the link that ultimately took me to an online class on what to do if there is an active shooter at work.

Yes, I knew it could happen. But, the training came with a rather graphic video. It was disturbing to say the least.

And, now I've thought about what my best route is out of the building. And, I've thought about the need to take off my shoes so I can run faster. And, I've thought about my best hiding place. And, I've thought about things I've never really had to think about.

It's good. It's just not something I had done before. It's sad that we live in a world where this is something we need to worry about. I don't think this is what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they established a right to bear arms.


Cheers!
mouse

Time for a Top 3

Dear Friends and Family,

The to do list is under control, for the moment. The house is beginning to resurface from years of neglect, slowly. The old work continues, although I am not as engaged as I was when I was working full time. The new work is beginning.

It seems like a perfect moment for a top 3 update.

My idea. I think I'm ready to devote more time to it. I have two interviews coming up this Friday. This means, in a couple of weeks, I could potentially have my first employee which means the meter starts running on my cash flow which means I will need to go big or go home. I am excited about this. And, this will definitely fill the "intellectual challenge" box.

There's keeping up with the current routine of progress on the to do list and on the house. I like that there are oases of calm that my eye can rest on. But, the more I uncover them, the more I realize that there's miles upon miles of house that still needs to be uncovered.

And, last but not least, is spending time with friends and family. This actually takes planning, but I enjoy it. We've got some big weekends coming up. I think I'll just kick back and enjoy them.


Cheers!
mouse

10.28.13: Weekend with Grandma

Dear Friends and Family,

My mom was here this weekend. And, while P had fun, she also told me she wants time with just Mr. mouse and me.

Saturday, she went to her science class. Based on some paperwork I found in her bag, I think they made paper. Then, P went to an art supplies store with Mr. mouse and picked up some Mod Podge, the glue of choice for decoupage projects. She went on a bike ride with Mr. mouse while my mom and I watched the figurative paint dry. I finally decided to take a nap. Then, P came home and took a nap. While P had fun, and Mr. mouse had fun, I felt like it was a waste of my Mom's time to be here while P wasn't doing much of anything with her. Oh well.

Saturday night, we decoupaged our pumpkin. We traced pictures. We colored them. We cut them out. We pasted them on the pumpkin.

Sunday, we all went to church. Then, we took P to a park and to lunch. We came home. I napped. P played outside with my Mom and Mr. mouse. Apparently, near the end, she raked all of the leaves into a pile with Mr. mouse. Then, she said she wanted to nap in the leaves. When Mr. mouse told her she couldn't, she said she was going to her room. They found her five minutes later, in her room, cuddled up in bed, asleep. I guess she was tired.

Sunday night, we watched an auto race, we ate popcorn, we ate dinner, we did some stickers, we opened P's Halloween bag, and before you knew it, it was time for bed.

And, now it's Monday. I have an abbreviated work week with Halloween thrown in there. And, I have lots of odds and ends thrown in there as well. I have lunch duty on Wednesday and a blood draw on Wednesday. I have two interviews and a lunch date on Friday and a play date on Friday. And, we have play-date-palooza over the weekend with one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

One day at a time, mouse. After all, that's how we got through the to do list this weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

-7 +5 +3 +3 Equals +4

Dear Friends and Family,

I was so proud of myself.

I made a lot of progress on getting things done this week, especially considering the fact my mom is here and Mr. mouse has been swamped. Then, I realized that it's the beginning of a new month next week and that means there's a lot of stuff I add from my recurring list. So, at the end of the week, barring any unforeseen circumstances, my list will be four longer than it was at the beginning of the week.

Well. I really wish it wasn't. That's a goal. I need to knock four more things off of it.

I'm motivated. It's going to be another busy day today. But, it's a good kind of busy.


Cheers!
mouse

The Family I Inherited

Dear Friends and Family,

Sometimes I fool myself into thinking my family is normal.

Mr. mouse and I fight. We get angry. But I don't think our disagreements are outside the bounds of normal. P seems like a perfectly normal kid, even if we know she isn't quite normal. And, my sister, who I talk to on a regular basis, is pretty normal too.

But, you don't have to go far on the family tree to begin finding the craziness.

There's my brother. The 33-year-old who lives with his parents. He's following the dream of becoming a doctor. In three months he graduates from med school and has promised our Dad that he will find a job to begin paying back his loans. If he actually does become a productive member of society, I'm more than willing to grant him normal status. If.

There's my mom, the martyr who married my Dad. Why she married him, I don't know. Why she stays with him, I don't know. Why she doesn't set boundaries, I don't know. Why she expects it to all play out okay, I don't know.

Then, there's my dad. Ultimately all of the family drama starts here. I know. I know. He grew up in a war torn country to a family that faced immense hardship. They lost their "fortune" in the occupation and the war. Illness and strife followed and eventually craziness set in.

Not to be "that" person, but I will be that person.

What I described happened to hundreds of people. An entire generation grew up in a war torn country. Everyone faced immense hardship. Everyone lost everything in the war. But, guess what, hundreds of thousands of families persevered and didn't use circumstance as an excuse let their worst selves flourish.

What's driving this post?

First, there's the 40 minute harangue I suffered at my Dad's hands on Tuesday night on what was supposed to be a peaceful bus ride home. With topics ranging from the need to respect my elders, to how I should manage my money, to what P should be when she grows up, to how I had made such poor career choices, to everything.

Let's be clear. No one gets my respect unless they earn my respect. And no one gets to keep my respect just because they're older than me. Okay. We're on the same page.

Next point. Getting money management advice from my Dad is like getting money management advice from the guy with the cardboard sign and the coffee cup full of coins. It's full of blather. If I ever followed his advice, I'd be broke overnight. My Dad should thank his stars my mom managed the money when we were growing up. She's a horrible money manager. It's just on a relative basis, he's even worse. Okay. We're on the same page here too.

On to P's career options. She's four, people. The world is going to change several times over between now and when she enters the workforce. Really, I'm going to take career advice from a person who was born during The Second World War? There's a difference between life advice and career advice. If I need to shell out useless career advice, there's obsolete advice from my generation. Do I really need to go back further for worse advice? No thanks. I'd rather wait to see how the world evolves before giving P career advice.

On to the real stickler. Me. He criticizes me. I'm the one child of his that has a job. Granted, my current job is a combination of part time work at old work and research on starting a new company. But, after working for almost two decades, I've more than earned my right to explore new options. And, my work? So what if it wasn't glamorous? I enjoyed it and it paid the bills and it allowed us to save up for retirement. What about that should I be ashamed of? Tell me. I'm all ears.

If all that wasn't enough. Then, I find out he's been harassing my Mom to no end. My mom's not perfect. But, she should be allowed to have friends. She should be allowed to see her friends. She should be able to go by herself, especially if she invites my Dad and he declines the invitation.

It all hit some new nadir last night. We know my Dad's been stewing. That's why he called me on Tuesday. That's why he called my Mom on Tuesday and then yesterday with more haranguing. And, then, last night, he gets in the car and drives to my Mom's church at 10 o'clock at night to look for the priest. I want to believe he's seeking help. But, in my cynical heart of hearts, I think it's because he's just there to stir up more trouble.

Now, I need to think through the holidays. I want to see my Mom. I want to see Mr. mouse's family. I don't mind seeing my Dad. Why, I don't really know. But, I've got no desire to have P interact with the crazy man who is her grandfather. She's too tender a kid. She's too innocent. And, I don't see how the benefit is worth the risk.

The possible benefit? She has vague memories of seeing someone once a year who is fond of her that she is told she is fond of. The risk? I get angry. Beware the wrath of a mom who's protecting her young.

On that note. Happy Thursday!


Cheers!
mouse

Somewhat Free Time

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Wednesday.

I have my second meet and greet today. And, that's exciting.

I also have the whole day free. This would be more exciting if my mom wasn't here so I could have the time totally to myself. But, she did help with pick up yesterday afternoon. And, she is helping with drop off tomorrow morning. And, P does like playing with her so I really shouldn't complain.

Lots of little ideas of what to do with my day. There's the growth chart. There's looking at the insurance quote. There's figuring out a pay structure for my solitary employee. There's work. There's laundry and the dishwasher. There's preparing for tomorrow. There's writing my sister about Thanksgiving. There's scheduling dinner with a friend. There's... well, truth be told, not much else.

Oh. There's spending some time clearing up the clutter in our kitchen.


Cheers!
mouse

Cautiously Optimistic

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Tuesday. And, I'm cautiously optimistic.

I'm really making progress on my to do list. I really am. And, that makes me feel a little more happy and a little more relaxed.

I think, this week, I will hang a growth chart Mr. mouse and I bought for P. She's had it since she's two. And, for the past two years it's been in the hallway outside of P's room. We bring it into her room to measure her. We bring it into the hallway when we're done and lean it against the wall outside of her room. Again.

In a perfect world, we'd hang it in P's room and she'd be measured against it while it's hanging on the wall. But, we don't live in a perfect world. That would imply the spot to display her growth chart and the spot to measure her would be the same spot. It would also imply I was willing to trim away the baseboard to ensure her growth chart hung straight. It would also imply the hooks they gave us were flush to the growth chart.

See why we've been procrastinating on this for two years?

Well, this week, I will tackle this. That'll be one more thing to cross off the to do list.

Oh, and I have my second meet and greet with a potential employee for my future idea. This is really happening, people.


Cheers!
mouse

10.21.13: Fun Fall Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a lovely fall weekend.

Saturday, P went to school in the morning. Then, we went out to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon. P got to ride her tractor wagon ride, and we picked a ginormous pumpkin to bring home. We're decorating it this week for a school project. Then, Mr. mouse will need to drive us and the pumpkin to school on Monday.

I think the easiest thing to do will be to bring it to school in P's baby stroller. Then, I can bring the stroller home on the bus. It looked a lot smaller in the pumpkin patch. It really did.

Sunday, we took P to watch Frog and Toad. We had been preparing all week, rereading our Frog and Toad books. And, to say we were excited was an understatement. The set was gorgeous. The songs were delightful. But, the best part, for me, was watching P.

Her face lit up with smiles and laughter. She giggled when she couldn't control herself watching Frog and Toad cavort on the stage. She looked to the back of the theater to see what was there when the characters peered than way. And, she looked appropriately scared when Frog was alone on the forest and we all knew Old Dark Frog was going to show up. It really was amazing to watch her face. I wish I was allowed to take pictures during the play, but I wasn't so I didn't.

We found a nice Greek diner for lunch and then played at the playground across the street. We got gelato. We ran errands. We ate dinner at home.

It was a fabulous weekend. And, best of all, I revisited my to do list. And, it's never been shorter! Congratulations, mouse.


Cheers!
mouse

Oops.

Dear Friends and Family,

I almost forgot to write today!

I did some work. I found some insurance. And, I've been on a monkey killing spree like no other. I've been downloading pictures from P's first two months at school. Once I get them all, I'll import them to iphotos and then change the dates on the photos that I can place. And, voila, six dead monkeys.

If we go to the pumpkin patch this weekend, I can kill yet another monkey - the tractor ride monkey.

Go, mouse, go.


Cheers!
mouse

Monkey Hunting

Dear Friends and Family,

My boss reminded me of an article I read years ago about monkeys. In the article, monkeys are things that require thinking or tending to. Most of us go through life with monkeys on our back. Some of us are martyrs and take on more monkeys than we can handles. Some of us are loafers who try to take all of the monkeys off of our backs and try to put them on someone else's back.

Rereading this article, I know why I've been so busy. I've been so busy, because, for the past month, it's been open season on monkeys in the mouse household. I've been trying to remember all of the monkey that have been languishing all around our lives for the past thousand years, monkeys on my back so long I'd forgotten they were on my back, and slowly but surely taking them out.

There's feeding monkeys, which means you still need to take care of it later. There's starving monkeys, in the hopes that they'll go away. They don't. And, there's eradicating monkeys so they're gone for good.

Today, I think I'll try to take out another monkey.


Cheers!
mouse

Free Day!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's my first free day since transitioning out of full time work. I spent extra time on Monday night working so I would have free time today.

I have about an hour's worth of work. And, I have a couple of chores I need to do around the house. But, most of the day is free. Hooray!

I think I will use the time to work on my idea. I am glad to finally have the time to get that ball moving. And, the best part? I have another free day on Friday!

My transition to my new life feels like it MAY be complete.


Cheers!
mouse

Disk capacity expansion error. resize 2fs

Dear Friends and Family,

Yep. That was the message waiting for me when I woke up this morning. Really.

At this point, I'm inclined to do one of two things - deal with it later or let Mr. mouse deal with it. I did enough reading to know that this error seems to be fixed by backing up your hard drive, restoring the hard drive to factory default settings, rebooting your hard drive, and then restoring everything.

I know, I just backed up my data. But, honestly, I didn't back it up "enough" to deal with the above. I backed it up enough to deal with an emergency. There are files I've updated since the back up. There are files that don't match perfectly. It's probably another week of futzing with the back up drive to do a 100% check. I mean, when you go from three copies of your data to one, you want to be 100% sure you know what you're doing. No?

I think everything is working enough that we have options. I don't think we're in crisis mode yet.

I've learned this about our hard drive. When it's working, it's great. But, when it needs maintenance, it takes a million and one years to get it back up to working.

Definitely not something I'm dealing with today.

Today, I'm off to work. Then, I pick P up at school. We eat a snack. P naps. I assess how best to spend my afternoon. We enjoy the evening.


Cheers!
mouse

10.14.13: Go! Runners! Go!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Monday. We had a fabulous weekend doing what I love most, spending time with friends and family. I didn't get as much time with P. But, I enjoyed the time with our friends who visited to run the marathon. The weather was perfect, the runners did fantastic, and I loved the chance to spend more time with my inspirational friends.

Now, it's Monday. I have a chunk of meetings. And, the house needs to get back in order. But, I have the most fabulous gift of all, a normal week and free time to work on my idea!

Talking to my girl friend reminded me of how fortunate I am. I have a day job that pays me 70% of what I made. I have time with P. And, I have time to pursue something I could get very passionate about. I have a home I can share. I have a daughter who is precious and loves me. I have a spouse who understands me and loves me. I truly am blessed.

And, knowing that and knowing I have somewhat of a routine makes it easy for me to feel great this morning.

Go! mouse! Go!


Cheers!
mouse

Defragmenting, 24% Complete

Dear Friends and Family,

Now I realize why to do lists never get taken care of - things take forever, and who has the time?

We're now into our second week of working on exchanging the hard drive to remove a drive with errors and get some expanded capacity in the process. And, there's still a ways to go before I'm done. Sigh.

On a positive note, today is a beautiful day with more free time than I've had since I left work and P started school. Seems like a perfect day for working on my new idea. After all, it's not like I need to sit and watch my hard drive defragmenting, right? Right.


Cheers!
mouse

Checking, Checking, Rechecking

Dear Friends and Family,

After nearly a week of copying files, I spent last night checking my files. And, this morning I'm doing a final check. Hopefully this back up is complete and we can move on to the actual swapping out of the hard drive.

And, after a very long week, I have approximately 4.5 hours of work ahead of me over the next two days - three and a half in the office today and an hour of email tomorrow.

I have visions of what I'm going to accomplish tomorrow. I think I'll stop by Whole Foods to figure out a new vitamin. I think I'll get a manicure. I may pick up snacks at Whole Foods for a play date. I'm going to do my hour of work. And, I am going to do something, I'm not sure what, but something towards my new idea. I promised myself I was going to start this week so I am.

I'm exhausted right now. But, it also feels good. I've made it through another week in one piece and I finally feel like my life is becoming manageable.

Oh, and my living room is almost under control. There's still clutter hiding everywhere (the credenza and the coat closet are still pretty scary), but the external clutter is almost all gone. I might spend one more week on it and then move on to another room.

Time to get ready for work.


Cheers!
mouse

Copying, Copying, Copying

Dear Friends and Family,

Late last week I decided to back up my hard drive. And, since then it's been copying files onto my back up drive. Yes, it's been something close to a week. Hopefully it'll be done soon because that's when the real fun begins. We can swap out the drive on me hard drive that is getting full and reboot the drive and cross our fingers and hope.

Then, if all goes well and iPhoto opens without a problem, we can copy over all of the pictures we've been hoarding since late last week.

I've also decided not to nap with P. While I love napping with her, it makes it tough to sleep at night. Staying up would be great, except now that there's less work to do around the house, Mr. mouse just goes to sleep after putting P to bed. So, there's no real reward for staying up. Oh well, I think we're all looking for a routine. I guess I just wished part of my routine was spending more time with Mr. mouse. Still, I know myself well enough to know that nothing ticks me off more than staying up late at night waiting for someone else to maybe wake up. Okay, there's got to be things that tick me off more, but that easily makes the top ten.

Okay. Off to get ready for school and work. And, no nap for mouse tonight. I'm going to go to sleep after I read to P. And, if Mr. mouse decides to stay up after putting P to bed, I'll just take it as a sign he prefers to be up alone than with me.

I'll be so glad when I'm done with this hard drive thing.


Cheers!
mouse

Waste of Time

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday was a colossal waste of time. They decided to do some IT work over the weekend and re-mapped all of our share drives. So, no one had any access to their files. Lovely. So, I futzed about all morning, went to pick up P, came home and napped. Then, I was up until one o'clock in the morning working on stuff. Note to self, let's not do that again.

Today, I'm off to work. Then, I have time with P. And, dinner and drinks with a friend after work.

My focus this week is on getting P's lunch sorted out. She's been falling off her growth curve since starting school lunch. I had a meeting with the school nurse on Monday. I may have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday. I also have my doctor's appointment on Wednesday. And, I have a big presentation on Thursday.

Hmm... I like the paycheck, but I'm not 100% sure staying with old work was a great idea. Looks like someone is looking forward to the weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

10.07.13: Inflection Point

Dear Friends and Family,

Finally! A weekend on calm.

Saturday, P went to school. Yes, she went to school on Saturday. She just started an "enrichment" program that meets on Saturdays. The program is focused on language, math and science. P picked the science class for the fall semester. She loved it. It's sad to think we lose two and a half hours of quality Saturday time with her. But, if she's enjoying it, then I guess I am excited for her. It's just that it didn't hit me until this weekend that we were losing that Saturday morning time together.

Saturday afternoon we played at home painting a rocket ship. That's all we did and it was fabulous.

Sunday, P went to school while I went to church. Then, we went to the park since we hadn't been there for months. P had fun playing in the hammock. And, she conquered the next level of climbing on the net. She's growing so quickly.

After the park, we headed out to the burbs for lunch. P wanted to go to our favorite Korean restaurant, so with nothing on the agenda for the day, we drove out. P and I napped on the way home. And, once P woke up, we built the rocket ship. It's quickly become a house for P and me and toddler kid. A space age house where you can press a button and get food and clothes and medicine, but a house nonetheless.

It was a relaxing weekend. And, now, I'm somewhat gearing up for the week. Still lots to do. But, it's a more routine week. Today will be busy for work, both the day and the afternoon while P is napping. Tomorrow will be busy for work, but just the day. I will have time in the afternoon for me. Wednesday, I have a doctor's appointment during the day. And, I'll have time in the afternoon for me, I hope. Thursday, will be busy at work, but just the day. I will have time in the afternoon for me. Friday, I have the whole day blocked off. I've got about an hour of work. And, the rest of the day is mouse time.

Wow, it feels good to think there's so much time available for me. I think I've hit an inflection point.


Cheers!
mouse

Ahoy Thar, Pirate Princesses

Dear Friends and Family,

We got back from our potluck dinner to find P in a light-up Cinderella dress with her magic walk-on-water Cinderella shoes on. She also had on an eye patch and a batch of necklaces. She was hunting for treasure with her friend D. It was comical to say the least. I'm going to assume she had loads of fun on her play date.

Today, we switch gears. P has her first school trip, her first new school show and share, dance lessons, nap (hopefully), and then dinner with her cousin. And, as I look at my sheet, I realize the only reason I am sane is I have my sheet to guide me and reassure me. I've got almost everything written on that sheet - my calendars, my to dos, notes I need to transcribe, packages I am expecting, everything. Without it, I think I'd feel lost. Fortunately, I have it on my computer, so I'd only really lose the current week, but if that happened I'd probably walk around for a month with a niggling feeling that I might be forgetting something. My sheet is a happy little obsession.

Well, looking at my sheet, I'd better get started with my day. Deep breath, mouse. Go.


Cheers!
mouse

Yesterday and Today

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, I blocked out my Wednesdays and Fridays on my work calendar. This should give me some amount of time to work on my new idea. That felt good.

Yesterday, I napped. That felt good.

Yesterday, I cleared off more of the kitchen counter. That felt good.

Today, I have work to do. Today, I have to pick up a present for my nephew who is visiting tomorrow. Today, I need to get P to nap early and then I need to drop her off at a friend's house for a play date. Today, I have my last "big" obligation for school kick-off.

Today, I still want to do a load of laundry. Today, I still want to empty out the dishwasher. Today, I still want to find 30 minutes to work on the house.

The little obsessions that make up my new routine are just that, obsessions. Still, it feels good to be making progress on the things that make me happy. A clean house makes me happy. Sleeping makes me happy. A shorter to do list makes me happy.

Yesterday, I was happy. Today, I hope to be able to do the things I need to do so that I can say the same thing tomorrow.


Cheers!
mouse

30 Minutes Well Spent

Dear Friends and Family,

I love, love, love the fact that P still naps. I would love the time with her if she didn't. But, I love the time without her since she does.

Yesterday, after she fell asleep, I set the timer for 30 minutes. I spent the time restoring order to those little islands of space that I have reconquered from the chaos that is my house. Fortunately, I was able to reconquer my tiny little islands of order in the 30 minutes. And, I was able to spend the rest of the time, after my 30 minutes were up, working on work.

Today, as long as I'm not too tired, I may try another 30 minutes. It's about enough time to really make progress, but not enough time to feel like you got nothing else done in the day. After 30 minutes, I move on, with little to no guilt, to my next task at hand.

I'm not sure what that task will be, but it feels good that I'm making progress on something besides old work. It also feels like we might be hitting a routine with P. We have a thing for school tonight, and then, after that, nothing looming on the horizon.

I also realized there is stuff at old work that just needs to be prioritized lower. Everything will not get done with me working 17.5 hours a week. And, that's okay.

Yeah! You deserve a pat on the back, mouse.


Cheers!
mouse