Dancing With Myself
So today got off to kind of a rough start. Apparently, my brain is taking an *extra* long weekend because I completely forgot that I'd promised to meet a client first thing this morning. Not the biggest deal ever - we easily rescheduled - but it's still embarrassing, and a brutal start to a Tuesday that feels suspiciously like a Monday.
My cure is the Glee soundtrack. Nothing makes a person happier faster than a Glee cover of 'Bust a Move' - and that's a scientific fact. There's a little bit of secret desk dancing going on here right now... And I'm seriously missing my old work buddies Christine + Dolly, because I know that if they were here and I pulled out my headphones, they'd be dancing along with me. This is not really that kind of office... :)
Labels: Back to Work, Christine, Cocoon, Dolly, Music, My Friends, The Cocoonettes
The One Where I Totally Give Up
I've pretty much given up hope of ever catching up here, so here's a collection of randoms from the last week or so for your reading enjoyment (or more accurately, for my own documentation of our life).
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Geoff's parents have a baby bunny in their backyard. Like a TINY baby bunny. Like a tiny baby bunny that would totally fit in the palm of your hand. Briony has been on Baby Bunny Watch all week, and we spot it a couple of times a day. ('Baby bunny! Baby bunny! Where did it go?')
Our child is *slightly* obsessed with Miga - the black and white Olympic mascot from Vancouver. We resisted buying one for her, but got a tip from friends out here that there is an Olympic clearance warehouse open on weekends and basically impossible to find unless you know people who have been there. Even with very specific directions - and a street address - it was kind of crazy to find, but we were not disappointed. We scored a large Miga stuffed toy for Briony for $6. Awesomeness. Even better was the look on her face when we handed Miga to her. They've been almost inseparable ever since. Briony calls her 'Mugga' and is constantly hugging her and telling us how much she loves her. I think there's a Visa 'priceless' commercial in there somewhere (and not just because of the whole Olympic sponsorship thing). In any case, it's been $6 very well spent.
I'm a little concerned that I've gained weight on this trip, but I'm not checking until we get home. We've been active, but we've also been eating... UGH. Time to get responsible again when we get home. Better have LOTS of fun in the next two days! hehe
I got my first major assignment from this course back with a mark of 78% and a comment of 'fantastic work, Lindsay!' Um, what?! Clearly, we have different definitions and standards. And apparently, I won't be finishing this program with an A+ (or anything remotely close). Ah, well.
Briony has been encountering a series of weird and socially awkward older kids in playgrounds here lately. My guess is that they aren't capable of making friends their own age, and maybe babies and adults seem like easier target. They're inappropriately friendly and just ODD. Today, one of these girls was trying to hold Briony's hand as she navigated some very uneven ground covered in woodchips. I could see that she was throwing Briony off balance - by her proximity and by the fact that Briony was rather forcefully trying to avoid holding the weird girl's hand - and so I asked her not to. Then I told her not to. Then I kind of yelled at her not to. She did it anyway, and ended up falling on top of Briony on the woodchips. I demanded she apologize, and of course she just shrugged and wandered away - and her parents were too busy to notice or care. If my own child hadn't been so hysterical, I would have tracked down her parents just to yell at them for being so careless and raising such a careless child. SERIOUSLY. (Okay, I'm climbing off my soapbox now...)
I'm physically attached to my BlackBerry at all times - second only to Starbucks, and then to my MacBook. If you know me in real life, this is the farthest thing from news. It's partially because I'm admittedly a tad bit obsessive about work, but it's mostly sheer force of habit because when I'm really flared up I need to have a phone within reach at all times, just in case. But I experienced a first today: I accidentally brought my laptop into the bathroom with me instead of my BlackBerry. I'm still trying to figure out what this means. But I've discovered that there is no good place to put a laptop inside of a bathroom. I realized what I'd done just seconds after locking the door and I stood there for a minute like an idiot, trying to figure out what to do with it. (The answer, if you're curious, was to place it on the mat in front of the sink. Not sure what the *correct* answer is, but that's what I came up with at 10.30 at night.)
I started off today with a 07.30 am conference call. It was kind of my idea so that we had the rest of the day unscheduled, but it was NOT one of my better ideas. What a ridiculously depressing way to begin a week (even though I'm happy and excited about the project). Memo to Self: DON'T DO THAT AGAIN.
Lots of people have been asking about how I'm feeling, because I talked so much about being sick at the beginning of our trip. The truth is that I've improved, but I've never really found my balance here - which is freaking me out because if I can't balance here with all this support, I'm not sure how I'm going to do it at home. I'm crossing my fingers that it was just the weather and atmospheric changes here, but we'll see for sure over the next week or two. In the meantime, we've been SO BLESSED to be surrounded by friends and family who pitch in and help out with Briony without us ever needing to ask. Between Geoff's mom and Cait and Hannah and Vicky and everyone else who has given my daughter some extra love at one point of this trip or another, it's been very manageable. I've said it before, but it's as true now as ever: what a lucky little girl to be so very loved.
Two days left before Travel Day. How is it possible that three weeks can fly by so quickly? I blame it on having so many people here who we love. We're sad about leaving but excited to come home again, which means that it was all perfectly timed again.
Labels: Back to School, Back to Work, Briony, Caitlin, Family, Going Coastal, Going Rogue, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, Rob and Vicky
In Which the Secret is Revealed
We're not having a baby.
We're not moving.
We're not switching toilet paper.
I'm not cutting my hair (I have very little left to cut at the moment anyway).
I am, however, getting a real job (again). Kind of. SIGH. I'm going to explaining things a lot, I can tell already :)
You are looking at the newest member of the Blacksheep Strategy team. I am officially coming on board as their Communications Specialist. I signed the papers this past weekend.
I'm more excited than I thought I would be about having a real job again (probably because this new job is half time, entirely flexible, and working mostly from home). I'm not totally abandoning my freelance business - though I have had to say goodbye to a couple of clients who would have presented a conflict of interest. I'm also keeping a couple of them and will continue to accept projects for clients I like who are doing things I am passionate about. Or clients who are willing to write LARGE CHEQUES (hehe).
Freelance wasn't about needing to be my own boss or being a lone wolf. In fact, I didn't love either of those aspects of freelance. I feel like I've learned the most about what I do and how I can do it better through collaboration. But this past year of working 100% freelance was a means to a very important end: getting to work around Geoff's crazy work schedule and spend as much time as possible with the non-writing-related loves of my life. This job still accomplishes that end goal. It just does it with a twice-monthly direct deposited paycheque :)
I'm getting to continue to build my career with the kind of flexibility that moms drool and weep over. And I am NOT taking that for granted. It's a combination of absurd luckiness and hideous amounts of hard work. I've been laying the foundation for this over the past decade. It's just nice when the universe takes all that hard work and hands it back to you, gift wrapped, at some point well before you're lying in your grave.
So that's what's new. And we're all pretty excited about it here. And with that, I am going to return to my triple grande nonfat vanilla latte with cinnamon dolce sprinkles. And some invoicing. With a foggy view of the mountains outside the window here at Starbucks. I know, I know... IT'S ROUGH.
Labels: Back to Work, Going Rogue
My Eyes! My Eyes!
So I've been watching all afternoon as the neighbour's house got taped up, prepped, and finally painted (oh, the joys of a WAHM...). I ventured outside to grab something from my car and actually stopped to ask a painter, 'Um, that's a PRIMER colour, right?' He laughed so hard, he nearly fell off his ladder. Turns out that this was the PAINT colour. Yes, friends, it's THAT UGLY. And it's the view from my office window. Why does God hate me?
Labels: Back to Work, Bitching About Nothing, Going Rogue
Snapshot
Okay, so I've been slacking on my blog since we got home a week ago. I have a couple of good excuses if you're interested...
We got home and immediately (less than 24 hours from landing in Winnipeg) left Briony with my parents and had a date night: Pizzeria Gusto - of course - and the Keane concert. Awesomeness. It was such a good show, and it's ALWAYS good food. We tried a new appetizer this time, a grilled octopus, and Geoff convinced me to get out of my rut and try a new pizza. I switched from the Waterloo to the Miki, and now I just might need to alternate. Turns out that CHANGE might not be a total disaster every single time :)
And in the spirit of CHANGE, I tried changing up my coffee at Starbucks last week. It caused all kinds of drama and nervousness here... And Geoff mocked me mercilessly. But guess what? I found something I like *more* than my usual. I am now a Double Tall Nonfat Caramel Macchiato, and I'm pretty okay with that.
My mom turned 50 on Tuesday. We celebrated with a surprise party on Sunday that totally and completely caught her off guard (yay!). It was so much fun to have friends and family celebrate with us. It's hard to describe, but this felt like a 'bonus birthday' that we got to spend with her. I'm still a little bit emotional about it. We are so blessed.
We're gearing up for Run for the Cure in a little over a week and a half. Our team has seventeen members, and we've raised over $1,000 so far. Getting to participate in the run at the MTS Centre on October 4 with thousands of other people who care about finding a cure for breast cancer - and seeing the sea of pink t-shirts representing breast cancer survivors - will be icing on the cake. Can't wait to see my mama walking in her pink t-shirt :)
Briony is *so* mobile now. My baby girl isn't feeling very much like a baby anymore. She's a speedy little crawler, and easily pulling herself up on furniture and starting to creep around. Gaaaaaah. We've been busy reorganizing, installing gates, and just generally trying to stay one step ahead of her since we got back.
I've been flared up since we got home. Nothing very serious, just not feeling 100%. My energy level is in the toilet and I've been fighting off pain and stiffness (and a cold) for 2+ weeks now. Blech. I'm waiting for that morning where I wake up and feel a little bit better than the previous day. No luck so far.
I started a new book club on Monday. We're meeting monthly at Starbucks and reading books that are being turned into movies. The very best part? It's a completely random group of women, and most of them didn't know each other before. Out of the eight of us, I met three brand new people on Monday. I don't know if I'm more excited to get to know a couple of new people or to be reading and discussing books with fellow book nerds. Both are pretty fun.
Em and I are apparently going to Keith Urban this weekend. It was kind of a last-minute decision, but I'm starting to get excited about it. I'm not usually a big country music girl (in fact, I mock people who listen to country music) but he's cute and has a bunch of good songs - and can play guitar like nobody's business. Should be a good show. And a fun Girls Night Out, of course.
We had a big day here on Friday. This is going to sound stupid to almost everyone who doesn't live with chronic illness, but I gave my ten month old a bath totally by myself for the first time ever. Geoff was there just in case, but Briony and I did it by ourselves. On a regular basis, it still needs to be Geoff's job - but I can't explain what it means just to know that I can if I need to. It was like this piece of quintessential mommyness that I just needed to feel. It was awesome. Geoff was getting her into her pyjamas after and I was just sitting there beside them and bawling... It was a Moment, one that I will treasure for a very long time.
I'm working! Still a little bit less than my goal, but I have another month or so to get there - and I'm working every day now. I love it. It's incredibly difficult sometimes with a super-active giggly little monkey child on the go around me, but it's a challenge I'm *so* happy to take on.
School started again this past week. I'm taking a Case Studies course - my second last before I graduate from UVic's public relations program next summer. YAY ME.
That's not everything, but it's a pretty decent snapshot.
Now I really need to get some studying done and get dinner started before the lovely B wakes up from her nap. We're a little bit behind on things because I totally blew off EVERYTHING yesterday in order to play with my tiny gigglepuss, and then we met a bunch of other moms and babies for a walk this morning in the gorgeous September sunshine (and met my mom for lunch). Ah well. Such is life. My life, at least :)
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Back to School, Back to Work, Bookworm, Briony, Emily, Family, Going Rogue, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, Run for the Cure, The Boy, The C Word
The One Where I Earn My Keep
Monday, September 07.09This morning was a little bit of a slower start for me. I've been feeling lousy-ish since we arrived - scratchy throat, tired, stuffy nose, flared up. It all caught up with me on Monday and I actually went back to bed after Briony got up, which is almost unheard of for me.
I had a few clients with deadlines coming up this week, so Geoff and Marilyn took Briony out for a walk and I had a couple of hours to get some stuff done. I surprised myself by being freakishly productive and finishing everything. I *love* when that happens.
Later, Aaron + Cait came over for tea and then stayed for dinner and another walk around Mill Lake (yeah, that happens a lot here). It was so nice to see them and help ease their transition a little bit.
Back to work stuff for a second...
I'm very comfortable with the deadlines and projects I have going on now with my freelance business, but it will be interesting to see what happens when we get home. It's time for me to really get serious about looking for clients and getting some more work started, but Briony's also getting much more active - and mischievous - now. And napping less. I know I can do it, I just want to be able to do it WELL.
Today was a good day, not only because I got things done, but because - for a brief shining moment - I actually felt SMART. I was writing an article on a topic I had absolutely no idea about, something incredibly technical and complicated and over my head, and when I really just sat down and concentrated, I UNDERSTOOD IT. Like totally understood it. And found that writing groove where I actually cared about the details and the person who would be reading it and all that garbage that writers are SUPPOSED to think about and care about.
It felt soooo good.
I wish I could bottle that up and save it for a rainy day, because it's powerful stuff. It erases all those feelings of feeling ugly with all my baby weight hanging out there (whatever, at least my face didn't get fat) and feeling lousy because I'm not June Cleaver cloned with Carol Brady (whatever, she had a housekeeper). Until about eight minutes later, of course. Which is precisely why I need to figure out a way to bottle it...
Labels: Back to Work, Family, Going Rogue, Our Other Home, Travel
Crime Doesn't Pay
...but religion sure as heck can! :)
I've been making one or two phone calls every couple of weeks since my second trimester, in an effort to find a day care spot for Briony. Most of the time, those phone calls end with (a) Lindsay throwing something across the room, or (b) Lindsay crying. Usually both, because I'm super-frustrated about waiting lists of 400+ children. And the idea of dropping off Briony ANYWHERE makes me feel physically ill.
I know that we have until October to figure this all out, but the child care situation in Winnipeg right now is beyond stupid and I know that I'm already late to be making these phone calls. I refuse to find ourselves in a place where I have to leave my baby girl somewhere I don't feel 100% good about when it's time for mommy to go back to work. And so, I make these phone calls...
Today, I finally hit pay dirt when I got the contact info for a day care that is loosely affiliated with Geoff's church. Turns out that - despite the fact that they currently have a waiting list of over 150 children - Geoff's church membership gives us priority. Basically, Briony magically moves to Spot #1 as soon as she turns two, so the worst case scenario would be that we might need to wait for the next available opening at that point. And she'd be in day care with some of the same kids that she goes to church with. But you read the catch... They don't accept children until they turn two. ARGH.
So I have a *great* place for her to go as soon as she's two years old. Now, what to do in the meantime? I've figured out that - with Geoff's work schedule - the most childcare we'd actually require in a month is between five and ten days total. Really, we could make due very well with some kind of a casual arrangement with a stay-at-home mom or someone who wanted to come to our house. It would be complicated, but I think we could probably make it work - at least for the year between when I go back to work and when Briony can get into day care.
Isn't it incredible how quickly life can go from 'normal' to diapers and drool and day care? And, perhaps more interestingly, how quickly those things become a new kind of 'normal'? :)
Labels: Back to Work, Briony, Mommy Stuff
