Walking and Tripping...

This will probably be my last blog before I leave for London. Even though I don't leave until Wednesday afternoon, I know myself well enough to know that I will be busy with packing and organizing and trying to prepare for missing eight days of work and won't be able to work in a blog.

Even though the focus of my weekend has been to get ready for my trip, I also managed to participate in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure walk on Saturday. Our company president wanted our office to sign up to participate and so we did. Thanks to my generous friends and family, I managed to raise a nice little sum to contribute.

The walk actually ended up being a lot of fun. Even though I had to get up earlier than I do on a workday and even though we ended up getting quite wet in the rain, I enjoyed both the exercise and walking with my teammates.

It wasn't supposed to rain. In fact one of my coworkers and I were waiting for the rest of our group to arrive and we spotted Mr. Weatherman- Frank Marzullo from Fox 19 news. My coworker called out to him and he said hi and assured us we'd have nice weather for the walk.

Less than ten minutes later, it started raining. I'm not kidding. By this time, Frank Marzullo was up on stage, doing some grandstanding and he didn't say a word about the rain. It didn't help that I had stupidly listened to him the day before when he promised it'd be dry for the walk. Thus, I came wearing a t-shirt with a thin hoodie over it. Had I known it was going to rain, I would have brought the umbrella I keep in my car or I would have brought a windbreaker. Silly Captain Monkeypants!

Still, in spite of the fact that we were dripping by the time the walk started, the rain stopped and we managed to dry out as we progressed. As the walk started, it became pretty clear that there were going to be two paces set by our team- the slow walkers and the fast walkers. I'm a fast walker by nature so I broke ahead with the fast walker pack from our office. We ended up finished about 25-30 minutes before the rest of the team.

It didn't take as long as I thought to finish the 5K walk and afterwards, I simply headed home to figure out what I still needed to shop for to take on my trip.

The rest of the weekend has been spent making a packing list and organizing my clothes. This seemed like an excellent time to switch over to my fall/winter wardrobe and pack the summer stuff away, sad as I was to do it. I also decided to be ruthless and donate a lot of my clothes from all seasons. It's probably the influence of "Hoarders" but I decided that if I had some clothing I hadn't worn over a year or if I hadn't worn it all during the last season, I would donate it. In the end, I had two large IKEA bags full of donations. Most of it is good stuff that either doesn't quite fit me any more or just isn't my style. Having moved from California back to the Midwest, my style has changed a lot since I moved.

It felt good to purge and organize. I now have a well organized closet and lots of leftover hangers. I also have my packing list made for my trip with only a few toiletries left to get.

The hard part is that even though I'm staying in a hotel for the first half of my trip, I'm going to be moving on to my grandparent's for the second half so I have to be prepared for both legs of the trip. Even though I can do some shopping in the UK if I need to, I'd still like to try and minimize it if I can.

Aside from physically packing, I'm pretty much ready to go, I think. I'm not ready to be apart from the pups for 10 days but I'm not thinking about that. I know, logically, they'll be safe with my parents but it still doesn't mean I won't worry about them. I'm an overprotective mother, I know it and knowing is half the battle. I have their bag half-packed- I stocked up on their favourite "chompers" which is our name for the long lasting treats they get whenever I have to leave them for a while. They're partial to Busy Chewnola's which keep them busy. It also stops them from chewing things they're not supposed to chew.

So, in three days, I'll be London-bound and my pups will be spoiled rotten by their grandparents. I won't be blogging while I'm gone because even if I took my laptop, I wouldn't necessarily have an internet connection and, frankly, lumping a computer to the UK is a lot of work. I've done it before and I'd rather not do it again. I'm sure, however, I will have plenty of stories to tell when I return. Thus, for now, I'll bid you all adieu until I return. Or, as the Brits say, "Cheerio!"

Thanks for reading! Happy Monday and on!

Wrong Side of Bed Days

Today was one of those days where I feel like I got out of bed on the wrong side.

It’s not that I didn’t get enough sleep. The pups and I went to bed at a very decent hour. Granted, we had a 4:00 a.m. bathroom break but we went back to bed right afterwards.

So, I don’t really know why I woke up in a crotchety mood. I just did. It continued through most of the day . At work, I felt disgruntled because I’d found a few good candidates for positions only to have them rejected by my account managers. Meanwhile, my fellow recruiter is swimming in successes and I’m feeling like I’m just sucking at my job lately.

Of course, I’m not really sucking at my job. At least, I don’t think so. It’s hard at the moment because we don’t have any really good job openings. Most of what we have are the same as what most of the other major recruiting firms have and there’s only so many people in Cincinnati who are qualified. Also, since the jobs are still open and no one’s been able to fill them for months, that tells you just about how hard they are to fill.

Every now and again, I get an email at work from someone applying for one of our jobs. Thus, I get quite excited. Then I open the email and discover that a) It’s from someone who clearly just needed to apply for a job for unemployment purposes or b) It’s from a candidate who didn’t read the posting closely to see that it’s a permanent position which requires a U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder.

Thus, I’m feeling cranky. It’s a grey and gloomy day out there which doesn’t help. Stupid me naively believed Mr. Weatherman who promised we’d see some sun today. Since he’s been wrong almost every day for the past few weeks, you’d think I’d have learned that he’s wrong. But no, I listen and plan my day/wardrobe around the type of day he SAYS it will be rather that the type of day it actually is.

I think everyone’s entitled to be in a crotchety mood once in a while. The only stipulation is that they have to acknowledge that they’re a foul-tempered beast. I know exactly when I’m feeling foul-tempered and thus, I warn people. I think that’s only fair. There are people who swear up and down they’re not in a bad mood but proceed to snap at you and bite your head off whenever you talk to them. Thus, they’re in denial about their mood. Knowing is half the battle, as G.I. Joe said.

Also, I find that if I acknowledge I’m in a bad mood, it makes me feel less like I’m in a bad mood. I usually allow myself license to have a bit of a whine and a moan about silly things that annoy me. I usually keep my moaning to myself although I do occasionally unleash it on my dear and patient mother who listens, says, “oh dear” in the appropriate place and sympathizes. This is one of the myriad of reasons I love my mother.

However, sometimes, I just like to complain about things that she wouldn’t really ‘get’. This is when my lucky dogs get to hear their ‘mother’ talking a lot. I know to them, it sounds like this: “Blah blah human sounds blah blah hey, did she just say treat? Blah blah blah. Something that sounded like walk. Blah.”

To me, it may be about something as silly as the TV show “Glee” which for reasons unknown to me, I continue to watch weekly even though it’s gone from being fun and clever to being preachy, non-sensical and completely over-the-top. Or it may be about Facebook which I used to enjoy because it was a good way to check and see if all was well with family/friends and see what they were up to at any given time. Now it seems to have become a series of political statements, links to Facebook apps that “show you what your first ever Facebook status was” or “Click Here to See Who Unfriended You Lately!” or news articles about political statements. It’s not that I don’t care per se but, really, I don’t care. There, I said it. It’s one thing if it’s something personal to my friends- i.e. they have a success. For example, my friend, LadyAero just won a song writing contest. Now that’s the type of thing I WANT to read.

However, I don’t really want to read how Obama screwed up or read cryptic status updates that need to be translated by an “Inside Joke Handbook.” Darn it, Facebook used to be WAY more fun!

Either way, it’s actually quite nice to have something so…unimportant to moan about. I do recognize that I’m quite lucky when all I really have to complain about are superficial things and that my bad mood is just a result of getting out of bed on the wrong side especially when I have friends who are dealing with much more serious stuff. I’m sure if I wanted to find something more serious to moan about, I could but that’s not nearly as therapeutic as unleashing my pent up irritation on Facebook, Glee or Justin Bieber. I still don’t get the fuss with The Bieber but, then again, I’m not ten years old. Perhaps I’m not meant to get it.

Still, even though I got out of the wrong side of bed today, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully things at work will pick up and I won’t be quite so crotchety. Also, perhaps Mr. Weatherman will be right.

Though that... I very much doubt.

Happy Wednesday!

Early Snow...the Joy and the Guilt....

I made a mistake last night.

I made the mistake of talking to the puppies about what would happen when it snowed.

To top it off, I wore one of my snowflake necklaces today.

This may not seem like a big deal to most people but when you're a Monkeypants in possession of a dire love of snow, it's a dangerous thing indeed.

It's only November. As much as I love snow and the comfortable cosiness of the things associated with it, even I know that it's too early. Only yesterday I was mocking the giant inflatable Santa Claus down the street from my house.

Now, it seems, even though not-so-deep-inside, I'm eager for snow, we could have snow by the weekend.

For me, this is quite a delightful idea. After all, I'm the type of Monkeypants that adores the white stuff. I don't care if it's early. I only care that it's the real thing and not some slimy sleet that only wishes it were snow.

However, while I love the wintery precipitation, I'm not deluded enough to expect everyone to agree with me.

Thus, since it's only November 3rd tomorrow, it seems that there is snow in our forecast. By Friday, we should expect raw, cold temperatures that promise precipitation. If we get the precipitation, it's likely to be wet snow.

Naturally, being the winter-loving Monkeypants I am, this sets off certain interior cartwheels/songs of joy within me.

Yet, also being the sympathetic, empathetic Monkeypants I am, I can hear the groaning and moaning of my mother's anti-winter bones curling themselves up into a fetal position as we speak.

Personally, I can't wait. I made my puppies coats a few weeks ago as I mentioned on this blog. Thus, once we start getting temperatures that are below freezing, I still expect my little pups to don their coats and go walking in a winter wonderland with me.

Yet, the realist in me protests. Perhaps it is too early. Perhaps the beginning of November is too early for snow.

The sad thing is, I just can't tell anymore. I've lost my sense of the seasons to my sense of what I love most about the seasons. I love this transition period. I loved how Autumn suddenly slapped the hand of Summer and said "no more," as it made the leaves finally tumble from the trees and the nights to grow cold. I love how Autumn has to give way to winter with the spirit of balmy days that are interlaced with frozen nights that stunt the growth and progression of anything until spring.

I know I'll love it when Winter has it's ice-cold grip on us but Spring sneaks in and says, "look, you can be as frigid as you want but during the day, I'm taking control" and, slowly, her magic works and there are crocus, daffodil and hyacinth shoots peeking through the frozen earth.

Yet there's a long way to go until then. In the meantime, it's still Autumn with only a hint that snow looms. Nevertheless, the hint is strong enough that I'm already being blamed for the potential frozen precipitation.

My problem is that I love snow. In my former days, I had a dachshund named Sausage who would help me bring upon snow by our ritual dance. In my newer days, I have a dachshund named Sookie who can also help me do the dance but she's yet to realize the consequences of her infectious joy. In addition, my mother gave me a snowflake necklace that seemed to bring on the weather whenever i wore it.

This year, I haven't yet worn that necklace but I have another snowflake which, I confess, I wore today. It's not as fancy nor as obvious but given that snow was predicted by Frank Mazullo and Fox 19 Stormtracker weather, it seems to be quite as effective.

I admit, the joyous part of me that enjoys frolicking in the snow, that enjoys the frozen tundra of winter is happy that this weekend could be the start of the ice-laced season.

Yet, the realistic part of me, the part that will always be tied, invisibly, to my mother who I love beyond words, knows that it IS too early. It's only the first week of November. Winter doesn't officially begin until December 21st. A few weeks ago I was complaining that Summer was being greedy by trying to infringe her heat and warmth on Autumn's territory. Now, it seems. Autumn is getting the shaft again because Winter is being slightly greedy and wanting to speed things along.

I have to admit, the idea of a wintry covered sidewalk adust with snow doesn't exactly make me unhappy yet the nature of my personality is that I care about others. I know my mother and other winter- despising humans are definitely not ready for snow.

Yet, no matter how I feel or try to feel, the fact is there's snow in the forecast for this weekend. I just want to go on the record and say that it was NOT my fault. Sure, I wore one of my pendant necklaces and I described it to my puppies but this doesn't mean it's my fault.

Of course, if I decide to wear the official necklace and do the offical, "Snow, Sookie!, Snow!" dance, that's another story.

I'll keep you posted. It won't happen for a while, mum...I promise.

Happy Wednesday!

Deceived by the Weatherman!

When I woke up this morning and turned on my TV, I was expecting Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker weather. Instead, I got Pat Berry, Frank's substitute. I really didn't mind because I've found that Pat tends to be far more accurate about the weather. Also, he's not so smarmy.

Pat was telling me how we were to expect some severe weather. We were under a tornado watch. For all you non-tornado-state folk, a watch means the conditions are right for a tornado. When it turns into a warning, well, then that's worrysome.

Pat told us that we were going to be getting some major storms from the west with major winds and strong rain. Essentially, we were to batten down the hatches because we were in for a bumpy ride.

I admit. I was excited. We've had a very mild weather time lately. We've had a few storms but nothing for quite some time. We've had breezes but no wind. So, when I went to work, it was with anticipation and a slightly naughty hope that something would happen weather wise.

All morning, the skies darkened. I waited. I sporadically peeked outside to see how the clouds were looking. They grew greyer as the morning progressed yet...no rain.

Finally, by lunch time, I went home to let the pups out and it was raining sporadically. When I pulled into my driveway, it was raining enough that I ran so I wouldn't get soaked.

By the time I let the pups out, the wind had crept up. There was a tornado of leaves. The rain started to pour and so there was this massive cloud of rain. The sounds of the wind was intense- the trees were creaking, the leaves were scattered and there was no way to catch your breath. Needless to say, the puppies ran in pretty quickly.

Then...it stopped. It lasted less than five minutes. It was enough to make the yard look windblown but that was it. By the time I went back to work, it looked as though we'd just had a quick Autumn downpour. Ironically, the tornado sirens were blaring as if there was danger but, by this time, the skies were clearing, the wind had dropped and there was little to worry about.

All afternoon, the skies continued to darken but the most we got was a few heavy downpours and a little wind.

I have to admit, I was disappointed. It's my own fault. I allowed myself to fall for the drama of the weather. Normally, I can resist it. Normally, any time the weather reporters work themselves into a gleeful frenzy and tell us what terrible, awful weather is headed our way, I know to wait patiently and see what really happens.

Today, unfortunately, I fell for their frenzy and I hoped we would have some major weather. I blame the fact that it's been so dry and calm of late that I was ready for a little Mother Nature.

In the end, while we did have a little wind, we didn't get the drama I expected. I'm a little sad by that. I'm also a little sad that at work, our network and software is maintained by our Chicago branch. They had power issues today and so our software was affected. However, my network and software stayed mostly up while my co-worker's didn't. She went home early. My boss was supposed to fly to Chicago but he got stranded at the airport so he went home early.

In the end, I was the lone employee in the office, listening to the slight wind outside and sporadically checking to see if it was raining hard.

Since I like my new job and I still have a lot to learn, I didn't mind holding down the fort. I just hoped that it would be against something more dramatic than the odd thunderclap and gust of wind.

Ah well, what I learned today is that you should never, ever give in to the frenzied energy of the weather reporter, no matter how sincere he sounds. Just because he's got a report that something weather-wise is going to happen doesn't mean it will happen.

Still, I suppose in the end, it's better that there was nothing than something bad...right?

Happy Tuesday!

Waiting for the Rain to Fall...

itIt's another beautiful autumn-like day out there again today. Last night, when I got home from work, we had the hope of a storm. The sky had clouded over, the wind had picked up and then, in the far distance, a rumbling of thunder.

I got excited about that. We haven't had rain in over three weeks. That is not an exaggeration. The ground is dry and cracked. The grass is yellow and brittle. My plants are all drooping even though I water them regularly. Every day I listen to Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather and hope he says we're going to have rain.

Yet, even when he does, it doesn't rain. I know that's not Frank's fault but I like blaming him anyway.

The storm last night was a storm. For a few moments, lightning whipped across the sky and we had some cracks of thunder that were so earsplitting and loud that Rory, usually unafraid of storms, whimpered and came running over to hide between my legs.

Then it began to rain and I went outside to let it fall on my face. It smelled as it always does after a long, dry period. The smell of dust floats up into the air, the asphalt from the road adds in its acrid odor and the whole world just starts to get wet.

Only in our case, then it stopped. We had maybe two minutes of rain altogether. It was if the storm came, decided it was bored and it just stopped.

I was disappointed. I think the puppies were too. In spite of their aversion to baths and, also, getting their paws wet, they have no problem frolicking in the rain. They usually come in, soaked and I have to grab them to towel them off so they don’t attempt to dry themselves on the carpet or, worse, the couch. Of course, as soon as they see the towel, it becomes less of a drying instrument and more of a tug-of-war toy.

So, we never got our rain. Instead, we got a couple of hours of searing heat and humidity before the evening air came and miraculously cooled everything down. Yesterday, it was 93 degrees. Today, it's 78 degrees. I'll take today's weather in a heartbeat, even if the rain never came.

Frank Marzullo said we might have rain Friday night and Saturday. I don’t mind the Friday night rain but Saturday is our neighbourhood's annual garage sale day and I was planning my tour of the sales to hunt for bargains. It's no fun if it's wet.

Still, I think we need rain more than I need more cut-price bargains. Yard sales are a little like having a couple in a grocery store. You don't really need the item you're looking at but since you have a coupon and you're saving so much money, it seems like a crime not to buy it. Never mind that the item will sit in your pantry for ages before you either have to throw it away or try it and realize that you don't like it. This is probably why I have umpteen packets of Lipton Rice and Sauce in my pantry. These days, I prefer to make my own rice rather than the packet mix but when I bought them, it seemed like a good idea.

Yard sales are the same sort of thing. I have several items that I got for less than a dollar that I now wonder what possessed me to buy them. I bought these little candleholder/mini urn things that I thought would look nice with some tapers in them. Well, tapers didn't fit and I couldn't get them to stand up in the holders even by melting the bottom of the candle and trying to use the wet wax as a glue in the candleholder. I finally gave up on the candles since they were so precariously balanced that every time I'd bump the table upon which they stood, they'd fall over.

The candleholders are now, slightly inexplicably, on top of my microwave, sans candles. This means they're also in front of my breadbin. This means every time I reach for my bread from the bin, I knock those stupid candleholders aside. Reason says I should just move them and I keep meaning to but it's just one of those things I never seem to either remember to do or get round to. If I hadn't felt compulsed to buy them for 25 cents at a yard sale, I wouldn't have this problem.

Thus, if I do end up going to the sales on Saturday, I must practice better restraint. Now I've lived in my house for over a year, I have less need for decoration and items to make my house look more cosy. It's quite full already. I really don't need any books although the lack of need will mean nothing if I come across a sale with a good book selection. Books are my biggest weakness. I know that I don't really need any more but I like to have books. Books are the friends that always have time for you, as long as you have time for them. They let you curl up with them and get lost in their pages and let the realities of life slip way for just a few minutes.

Still, maybe I'll make a pledge to only buy books that I really think would benefit my collection. Of course, if it rains, this might be a non-issue since books won't be for sale in the rain and, if they are, they'll turn into a sodden mass which makes them significantly less appealing.

But that's the coming weekend, not today. For now, Frank Marzullo says that it's supposed to be cool, sunny and lovely for the next couple of days.

As much as I want rain, I can live with that.

Panic-Inspiring Weather Reports....

The thing with spring is that it doesn't seem to last very long. You go from winter to spring and then, suddenly, just as you're enjoying pleasant days with balmy breezes and cool nights, summer comes creeping in, far too prematurely and steals away the balm with humidity and dryness.

That's what's been happening here. For the past week, our temperatures have been in the mid to high 80's with a ton of humidity. It means that it's hot outside in the sun and with the closeness of the air, it feels even hotter. It also means that the mosquitoes are already out in full force. I'm horribly sensitive to mosquito bites. Instead of a little bump, I get a mound that sometimes swells as much as up to an inch across. That, sadly, is not an exaggeration. Last night, during my deadly nightshade genocide, I managed to accumulate no less than six bites, all now swollen and inchy. The worse thing is that I was wearing bug spray!

Still, I'm not really complaining that much. There could be worse things. Tonight, we had a major storm, probably the first really severe one we've had this year. It was the type of storm that makes you jump with the ferocity of the thunder and the lightning feels like it's coming in the windows after you.

I was afraid for the puppies just because they tend to startle at loud noises. Ironically, they didn't seem bothered by it at all. In fact, Rory went outside to find out what the noise was all about. Meanwhile, I'm in the house trying not to jump at the thunder. I like storms but I made the mistake of putting the news on. I don't think there's a quicker way to go from simple jumpiness to complete worry than watching the local weather. They interrupt regular broadcast television to bring you "Storm Event Updates". This would be fine but weatherpeople tend to be drama kings/queens. If you're feeling even the slightest bit susceptible to worry, they bring it right out of you and have you convinced that there's a tornado forming outside your window. They breed fear with their dramatic reporting of heavy rain and strong winds. Stupid me was worried we were going to have a tornado before they'd finished their reporting. I began to worry the puppies would get struck by lightning outside because the weatherman kept saying how dangerous the lightening was. Then I was afraid they might drown because we were going to have heavy flash flooding.

The moral of the story is don't listen to the weatherman. For one thing, they're never right. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't know how weathermen/women manage to keep their jobs when they're wrong so very often. This morning, the weatherman I watch on Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather informed us all that we might want to pack our lunches because the weather was going to be horrid around lunch with the storms.

At lunch, the sun was shining and there was blue skies overhead.

Of course, I actually don't watch the morning weather because Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather might actually be accurate. I've started to watch it because I enjoy the moments of obvious tension between Frank and the morning news host, Rob Williams. There have been several snarky interchanges between the two men where they obviously dislike one another immensely but cover it up with a smile and a tense laugh.

It's sad but I really enjoy those moments. It makes the news more fun. Sometimes, I wish one of them would just completely lose it but I highly doubt they will. Nevertheless, I do enjoy watching Frank get annoyed at Rob because Rob dared say something about the weather. Frank does NOT like it when Rob tries to give a weather forecast. That's when things get tense. For example, Rob said something like, "It's shaping up to be a nice weekend," and Frank's response was, "Oh, are you predicting weather now, Rob?" And then there was a very tense moment of silence when you could tell Rob was trying not to leap across the studio and strangle Frank.

Sometimes, I'd like to strangle Frank. His weather reporting isn't particularly accurate and he loosens his tie rather too much. Also, he's the one with phrases like, "impulses of rain" and "pop-up fog." Still, the annoying thing is that he's become part of my morning routine and being a creature of habit, it's not likely I'm going to start watching something else in the mornings. It's the channel that's set on my TV and at 6 a.m., I'm not exactly coherent enough to channel-surf.

Still, at least he did get it right that we'd have storms at some point today. The storm is over now and the world looks flattened and wet from my window. The humidity hasn't left which leads me to think the storms aren't finished yet. I do like a good storm.

As long as I don't watch the news while they're happening.

Happy Thursday.