Give-a-way

Check out Jennifer's Mother's Day give-a-way at Feathers in the Nest

Be Kind to the Admin/Secretary in Your Life

It is Administrative Professionals Week so please be kind to any from the School Secretary (where I got my start) to the Lady at the Tax Office to the girl at the window in your Doctor's office.   Admins are what keeps everything together and moving forward! 

Every been in an office and the boss is out.......work still happens.   If the Admin is out......things grind to a painful stop.   No one left seems to know how to unjam the copier, where the extra plastic ware or plates for the luncheon, where are the menus for the nearby places that delivery, which way does the letterhead go in each and every copier and printer to make your document come out right, where is the secret place that phone numbers and addresses are kept, how to fax a document,  format a document and believe me I could go on.  Who reminds the boss what he needs to be aware of before he knows he needs to know?  

Being a good Admin .......................pause - I don't know when we went from being Secretaries to being Administrative Professionals......somewhere about the same time Janitors became Custodians I guess........being a good Admin is like being in the stage crew of a play.   You do not get center stage billing nor do you want it.  But you are instrumental in making the show go off without a hitch.  

So this week as you go through your day and interact with others think about who typed the lists, maintained the file, created the phone tree....it was probably a Secretary.......she is kind of like a mom who manages to balance kids, carpools, the house and husband but on a different playing field.

There are 9 of us Admins that all sit in same area of the 3rd floor at work.  For the last few years I have been doing something special  for them each day.  I supervise four of them.   My girls are better than great.   They are wonderful and joy to Supervise.   They are all dedicated and hard working.......maybe it has something to do with their boss.   Since we all sit close to each other, I do it for everyone.  Nothing big, but something to let them know they are special and appreciated.

  

Monday will be Pansies

Tuesday will be Muffins (for the Weight Watchers they are only 2 pts.)  Tuesday's muffins were burnt! so Thursday became Muffins-revisited!

Wednesday will be a Scandanavian Salad I am making them all for lunch.

Thursday ----(I forget what I planned.  It is listed on a piece of paper under my blotter at work.)  Muffins Revisited

Friday - I am stitching up little card wallets.

Have a great week, thanks for stopping by and remember the Secretaries in you life.

My Small Changes - Week 16

Touch it once and handle it!  I can't count the times I pick up something and more it from here to there only to pick it up and handle it again later.   I am making extra work for myself.  

When I am extremely overwhelmed at work and my desk looks like a front end loader dumper a billion pieces of paper on my desk and I need to make sense of it, I pick up each paper and handle it start to finish.   Usually in an hours time I can clean and sort my desk to the order I prefer.  Some things get sorted and sub-sorted but at least like things are together.  And it makes it not so overwhelming.   It makes the job manageable and I don't fear I have forgotten something...perhaps something important! 

So, why I ask myself, don't I do this at home?   It would work great with the junk mail.   I carry it in and look through it to see if there is something important.  Put it down.   Move it to the other side of the kitchen counter.   Pick it up and move it again when I cook dinner.  Stack it up in yet another place to take the time to review it on the weekend.   I mean what is up with that?   I have been doing the same thing with the laundry.   Wash it, dry it, fold it, leave it in the basket!  Move the basket, dig through the basket, hide the basket.  Just think how easy it would be to put everything away right away.

I don't know when this bad habit started.   This is not the way I used to do things.   Somewhere along the way when we all go so busy things started to but put off until I had time later.   This bad habit of mine stops this week for I will Touch It Once and Handle It!!!!

TUSAL Posting!

WaHoo!  I made it in the right day.  First a pix of my mug and all my bits in it.    Well I think at the rate I am going, I will need a new jar before long.   So that got me thinking.....hmmmm, what am I going to be like the Cat Lady with a 100 cats in her tiny house but me with my hundreds of jars of thread bits in my house..... then I remember what a girl I worked with told me her father did each spring.    He would set out bits of thread, yarn and string for the birds to pick up and use in their nests.   Well I don't know if it really is something the birds do but I am up for trying.    You can see my mason jar from last year behind and to the left.  Jar in hand,  I took last years bits/orts and sprinkled them around the yard.  I lined some on the pavers that edge a garden so I can observe if they 'disappear'.    It will be funny to see a nest with some metallics! 

I think of it as recycling.

Planning a trip to Massachusetts

I got so homesick for my daughter seeing Jennifer's post about being in Boston I just had to plan a trip to see my daughter.   She lives outside of Boston and it looks like it is set for us to travel to see her for Mother's Day weekend.   A weekend of my girls and crafting and giggling and a few drinks or two is great.   I wish it were this weekend.    I can't wait until we can get in transporters like on Star Trek and we can just beam ourself places.   Wouldn't that save so much time and give us all more stitching time?

I just had to share this clever idea

I follow a couple of thrift store junkies who seem to to possess the most incredible eye for seeing potential in something.   Pop on over to Mamie Jane's to see what she did with screw drivers----yes screw drivers----from a yard sale.   Too too inventive!  This is just the latest in her long line  of re-using things.

The old adage....ask a busy person...

EDIT WITH WIP INFO at the end for those who asked.

well I am that busy person.   I have taken over the Treasurer's position for one of the groups I belong to.   I have been wading through the jumble of papers since I received them Wednesday night.   I know everyone has their own method but to me, the papers were really a jumble.   I am putting everything in Quicken.   My prediceasor (sp??) was using Quicken as well but I want to start fresh going back to January 1.   I need to make sure everything is categorized in a sensible way to make it easier for when we do our final report on our grant as well as when we apply for our next year's grant  money.   In defense of the former Treasurer, she is new to our organization, has not worked with our grant before and just was named the president of another organization.   hmmmm, seems to bring back the memory of when the kids were in school and you saw the same few parents, sometimes in different roles and sometimes not, at the Soccer meetings, the Boy Scout meetings, the Yearbook meetings, the PTA meetings, the Project Graduation meetings.   You get the idea.  It is always the same few to seem to be the doers. 

I have been trying to tick and tie the paperwork and enter the info into Quicken. After a couple of hours, I relented and my other passion spoke to me......the great outdoors.  All the leaves are rakes and ground cover is ready to grow.

Big Fat Mr. Squirrel did well for himself over the winter. My pond!  I am amazed each year that the fish have made it through another winter.   Not bad for $1.99  Walmart fish.   

Some of my tulips!  These were from my parent's yard so they are special. 

A view down the side property line with my pond this side of the Xmas tree and Mr. Wonderful's Man Cave straight ahead.One of several arches we have erected over the years to mark the entrance into the woods and trails behind our house.Don't you just love the way the laundry smells after being on the line all day?  The camera just missed everything blowing in the breeze.And I have managed to stitch a bit but I am sure looking forward to my pj's and the return of Army Wives tonight.    This section with the four quilt like motifs is what appealed to me with this sampler.   I hope to have it complete by my guild meeting in May.  I'm close.  I'd better set up the DVR in case all the fresh air has me nodding off early.    Update for those who asked about the name of my WIP ......OK, so my WIP is a class piece from my Guild.   It is called Between The Sheets and was taught by Nan Tyson Euler.   She is from central PA I believe but I do know she teachs for EGA.  The class was two days and included all the supplies, linen, floss, etc., instructions on how to paint the linen at the bottom section where the house is stitched and a lecture on the history of the bedroom and its importance in the home. No no no....get your minds out of the gutter ladies!   It was all about how the bedroom was not private but rather a gathering place.   She shared a lot of historical info and anecdotes about the Germantown and Chestnut Hill sections of Philadelphia.   I enjoyed the class and have enjoyed the stitching the piece even more so now that I am getting closer to completion.   Anyway, check out the other photos by using the Nan Tyson Euler labels (now that my posts are labeled.)

My Small Changes - Week 15

Well folks, it is not because I don't have a list of things that I still want to add to my small changes but I do need to reflect and check my status of all the Small Changes I posted that I wanted to make.

Let's see -
Week 1 - Eliminate Sodas - I have only had 3, maybe 4 in 3 months!
Week 2 - Watch what I eat - Although I have been, it has not resulted in any weight loss.   I think I eat the wrong things. 
Week 3 - Take my rx's and vitamins regularly - Rx's is happening, not so good with the vitamins since I am not suppose to take them when I take my rx.   I will work on this.
Week 4 - Learn to say No - I just did again this week!  I told the Manager of HR I did not want to teach a class to other employees on Word 2007.  Trouble is I don't think he believed me!  I need to tell him NO firmer.
Week 5 - Review - that's what I'm doing now!
Week 6 - Log into my online banking regularly - doing it!
Week 7 - Drink more water - doing it!  I buy citrus fruit and put a slice in my water from a different fruit each day.  My fav is pink grapefruit.  
Week 8 - Put labels on my posts - doing it!
Week 9 - Sit and eat breakfast - doing it!
Week 10 - Take a deep breath before speaking - Doing it! Wow, now that I hesitate before replying I actually come up with some intelligent answers.
Week 11 - Update my filing system - Well I am thinking about it.   Seems to be the wrong time of the year.   I want to be outside!
Week 12 - Read the paper each morning - when I can find it!  When I can't I take 5 minutes to read my current book.
Week 13 - Cross things off that to-do list - Really trying to get this done.   Working on some long lost WIP's that I hope to be able to take off the list soon as well as some household projects.
Week 14 - Floss daily - I can't believe I am doing this.   How quickly this one became a habit. Takes no time at all.
Week 15 - See Week 5!

My Small Changes

Need to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather.....no time to update my small change right now......but I will and will fill you in later on what I have been doing and why I NEED to get away from the computer! Here's a clue..........

Weight Watchers

For those of you who may be on Weight Watchers, I found a great site.   It is called Dottie's Weight Loss Zone.   Check it out to find points values for restaurants, a newsletter, recipes, etc.