My family history is rich with Heart Disease. Keith and I are going to walk in the American Heart Association’s Heart 5K Walk at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on October 22, 2011.
If you’d like to donate and or walk with us, click the “Sponsor Me” thermometer in my sidebar.
We have all been touched by the effects of this oh so common disease. Thank you for the support!
My Lovey-Kitler… she’s MAD!!!!!! She is easily over-stimulated and takes out her aggression on whatever is in her path. Many times it is ME! She bites and scratches. She and I have weekly stare-downs to remind her who is boss. I’m happy to say that she is making progress. She is still rough when she plays, but is learning to keep her claws in more. She still bites, but with less force. Sometimes she just puts her teeth on me and then quickly retracts. I wonder what made her be this way? It’s been interesting to see her changing from a very frustrated nasty-girl to a more respectful and ultra-lovey girl.
My life has seemed so CRAZY lately. Lot’s of things going on… Work has been especially trying lately. There are SO MANY duties and not enough time. I took a week of much needed vacation early in September and feel as though I have been paying for it ever since. (I shouldn’t feel that way – right?) Nobody does my duties when I am not there. Everyone I work with is stretched to the max. The word from higher up is: 1) Customer Service is HUGE and 2) Do more with less. Great ideas! As a matter of fact, I am really big on the idea of “efficient” work. You know… use your resources to their fullest. Reduce waste. Manage time and other resources effectively. I’m always thinking “there has to be a better way” and “we are probably making things harder than necessary.” The problem is, I cannot keep up with the volume of work AND do the same quality of work as I aspire for AND deliver spectacular customer service (which in my line of work means DO IT FAST!)! My anxiety stems from the idea that I may have to lower my standard of work in order to keep up with the volume. At whose expense??? (I’m not even going there today)
I’ve identified the issue. Now how shall I respond?
1) God knows my anxiety and will give me the strength to deal with it. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
2) Attitude is key. I will be pleasant to work with. I will be patient with others.
3) Focus. I will prioritize, stay on-task, work hard, and put forth every effort to maintain the level of quality that is important.
4) I will be realistic. While I desire to be swift in performing my duties, there are limitations (time being a very important one). I shall present realistic expectations to my customers.
I also need to protect my personal life from being over-run by work and the stresses of it. It’s sometimes difficult to leave work at work. I often physically bring it home. It often monopolizes my mind, attitude, and even my sleep. Some things I can do to minimize the detriment of work-related stress at home…
My kitty’s name is “Lovey” or “Kitler.” YES – she bites! She really does, and it HURTS. But that’s NOT what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is… vacation is over. Boo hoo! We must return to the reality of our working lives.
Keith returned to work today. It’s quiet and boring and rather lonely without him. Tomorrow I not only go back to work, but it will be a LONG day as we have the quarterly meetings in the evening for which I must attend. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do. I enjoy the people I work with. But there is just a peace about not having to be there that I love. Plus, I really enjoy being with my husband.
I pondered today… is retirement like a never-ending vacation? I never thought I’d get to the point where I’d be looking forward to retirement. I’m almost there… not to retirement, but to looking forward to it. I hope that when I’m finally retired that my husband will be as well and that we will enjoy one another’s company for the duration. Hmmmm…
It started at Pymatuning State Park. We dropped a travel bug in honor of our anniversary attached to a giant diamond ring. We also picked up the geocoin that we earned on the AGT-Crawford County.
Then we motored off to Clarion. There was some monkey business as you see here. Keith makes like a monkey and climbs all over the big rocks. This is my favorite picture… I didn’t mean to step on him. I just wanted to get a good picture of his efforts. Too funny!
And he climbed the fire tower. Now, I climbed the one in Gettysburg and didn’t think anything of it. I may have been convinced to climb this one had I not fell down the stairs at home bruising my butt and pulling something in my leg. I was (conveniently) convinced that I could not climb that many steps up and down. I sent Keith up and kept yelling “Stop! Look out!” (so I could take a picture.) He was NOT impressed. He thought he needed to stop and look out because something was wrong. Tee Hee.
More rock climbing. Looking for signs of the Seneca Indians that once inhabited these parts.
What an AWESOME view at Seneca Point overlooking the Clarion river.
And of course, a stop at Helen Furnace. It’s really cool inside and SO BIG!!!
We finished half of the required geocaches on the Allegheny Geo Trail – Clarion. We’ll have to return another time to finish it and get our prize.
The more I hike the greater appreciation I have for the outdoors.
11 years ago today, I married my sweetheart! It was a beautiful day and all the right people were in attendance. It was the most fun day of my entire life. I still reminisce about it… hair/makeup at the salon, the flowers, the candelabras in the church, the music… boy can Tammy sing!, the silly shenanigans of the wedding party, the tongue tattoos, the food, the cake, the people, the pictures, the smiles and laughs, the video of Joyce peaking under the railing at the front of the church, the entrance at the reception, the chaotic photo shoot, the sour apple pucker, the special gift I opened at the reception from Ed and his paying a whole $20 for a dance with the bride, OH the dancing, the song my coworkers requested, the look on my Dad’s face as Keith danced to that song, the bridal dance, the father/daughter dance, and how my feet cramped like a charlie-horse the moment I sat down afterwards to pay the DJ. It was a grand affair…
And now 11 years later we’ve been through many trials and triumphs but I can honestly say… I love him even more today than I did back then! God is SO GOOD!!!
