Oo-La-La!

Just found this girls’ blog and I LOVE it!  A sample >> HERE <<.

Got a Call From Nervous

I got a call from my friend Nervous today.  She said she was going to be visiting me until Monday, January 30th.

I told her that was perfectly fine, we could talk and get re-acquainted with one another for the limited time she would be with me.  While we were talking she also gave the heads up that my other friends Disappointed or Elated might come after she left, but she wasn’t sure which one it would be.  I told her that was okay, I would be prepared for either one.

In the meantime, I’ll have a nice time with Nervous.  We’re going to do something low-key tonight.  In fact, she may just come and hang out with me while I work at the office…

Hermit

I was telling Such-A-One the other day how I have had a life-long (but yet on-again-off-again) fantasy of being a hermit.  If I could be, I would be a hermit in a place like this…

Or this…

Test of Time

Obviously, some things don’t stand the test of time.  Some things do.  Thank goodness things never all fall through at once.

Other things I’m grateful for:

My job is so much less stressful.

I have soccer leagues to play in almost year round now.

I have a new sport to learn (ultimate).

My car.

My backpack.

My cozy AE flats.

My application being completed and submitted.

I have a stable job, even if I can’t go back to school.

I can read.

Music and headphones.

My comfy bed.

Dogs.

20 Things I Learned in 2011 About Getting Dressed

1)  You can add tights and boots to almost any dress and make it look cute.

2)  Mustard (the color) goes with anything.

3)  Big. Gold. Watches.

4)  Black tights with black shoes are the bomb-diggity.

5)  Whether you look good in them or not, skinny jeans are cool.  Especially with high heels.

6)  Black and brown go together now.  Blue and black go together now too.  Who-da-thunk.

7)  Tie your belt.

8)  Add a scarf.

9)  Wear the same color with different patterns and/or textures.

10)  Denim + denim.  It’s okay!

11)  Faux fur.

12)  Top knot.

13)  Hipster glasses.

14)  You don’t have to match.

15)  Billow-y sleeves are the most wonderful thing.

16)  Oh, geez, I love sequin.  Lace too.

17)  Over-sized sweaters can be done right.

18)  I can’t say enough about blazers… tweed, navy, chic black… LOVE.

19)  Outfits of only black and tan items are versatile and awesome.

20)  Fashion is all about people’s opinions and only one opinion needs to matter to you…

YOURS.

Bouffant

I should have known that there was an no-joke, official word for what I have been calling “the poof.”  I should have also known that the word was French in origin.

The word is BOUFFANT.

Bouffant:  puffed out; full.

Picture examples below…

How I Feel About Days and People Past

Funny how some people I had thought were going to be so significant in my life, turned out not to be.  And funny how their absence in my life is not significant either.

In the best way possible, I really don’t care anymore.  It’s in a way that enables me to be very present in my life now and appreciate those people who I love and have ongoing relationships with.  I care about *them*.

I am a woman moved on.  I am a woman free of burdens from my past.  I am a woman filled with hope and optimism, with what feels unending gratitude for who I have become, where I am at in my life, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

In 2004, I recall feeling hopeless.  But that’s okay; I’m comfortable with having had that feeling.

In 2009, I recall feeling alone.  But that is also okay; I’m comfortable with having had that feeling.  We got it sorted out for the better and perfectly incorporated into my narrative.

That’s how I feel about it.  People have come and gone (important ones have stayed).  Feelings have come and gone.  Places have come and gone.  Jobs have come and gone.  Schools have come and gone.  Pets have come and gone.

Everything is still coming and going.  I’m like liquid mercury flowing down a sloping thing… er, no.  I’m like a living, breathing, maleable, adaptable, resilient, loving thing.  I’ve survived my traumas so well they don’t even feel like they were traumas anymore.  They were my stepping stones.  They were how I got stronger.  They are part of how I got to being This Me, the Me of today.  And part of the Me of tomorrow.

Oh, ye people who have gone!  Oh, days of old!  Oh, ye things I’ve grieved!   You are fine to have come.  And you are fine to have gone.  Thank you.  And good night.

(picture from The Daybook Blog)

Why I Blog: In a Snapshot

If You Schmooze, You Don’t Lose

We had our annual Christmas party today from 11:30am to 2:00pm.

My Regional Director was there.

Our Director of Clinical Services was there.

Our President and Chief Executive Officer was there.

What did I do?

I schmoozed the higher-ups.  I don’t know what came over me, but I TALKED with them.  Like, engagingly.

It started that I was standing there talking with our Director of Clinical Services about the Medicaid changes that happened this year and what we’ve done to adapt, the challenges, how hard my staff work, etc.

Then my Site Director, Regional Director, and CEO walked over (everyone else had left) nearby.  I continued in the conversation I was having, but had a ear toward them.  They were talking about me.  In a good way.

When the time was right, both the Director of Clinical Services and I turned toward the other three.  Then the CEO starts telling me how our TDT program is the only one in the state that has survived VICAP (if you want details about what that is, feel free to ask, but suffice it to say that it was the major Medicaid change of 2011) and how he stills tells people about I was the reason they changed the Supervisory Productivity Report for the whole company.  Then he and my Regional Director asked to look at what I’d prepared for my staff that day and both made complimentary statements about it.

Seriously, I don’t know why I wasn’t nervous.  I think it’s because we were talking about that which is now my expertise (TDT!) and *that* wakes me up.  I know what I talking about when that is the subject.  It gets me fired up.  I can hold my own with just about anyone in that arena.

So I wasn’t nervous.  I spoke clearly, if a bited excitedly.  I made and maintained direct (but not creepy) eye contact.  And when we all left, I gave those higher-ups the firmest hand shake they’ve ever gotten from a 5’9″ girl in pink. (I was wearing a pink sweater; not necessarily what I would have wore had I known they were coming, but hey, it’s hard to be perfect all the time.)

Good Grammar

I don’t know if I need to preface this as a confession, but sometimes I EDIT the comments people leave on my blog if they use…

BAD GRAMMAR.