Day 341 - Chat

I said I would, and I did. I will be officially joining a deaf chat group this coming weekend (I'm already RSVPd!). I'm scared that my signing skills are not up to snuff to participate with other signers, but practice makes perfect (eventually) right? I'll keep you all posted with updates afterwards...wish me luck!

Day 340 - Jingle

I signed up for my 12th out of 12 monthly events today! One last 5K for the year to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. Now, what to do next year? Suggestions?

Day 339 - MMOM

1. Monday's are _________?
Icky... They almost always mean having to go to work and well...work. And work combined with gloomy, winter weather qualify Mondays as officially "icky".

2. What is your favorite kind of milkshake?
Chocolate...or on occasion, Banana Yogurt.

3. What monthly bill do you most dislike paying?
All of them! But now that I think about it, my cable bill is the worst. I don't watch enough TV to justify the enormous bill, and what I do want to watch are the channels I don't get!

4. How many email addresses do you use on a regular basis?
Wow... I think I Facebook more then e-mail!

5. What color lights are on your Christmas Tree?
White.

Day 338 - Bling

I bought it. Bling that is. And, as I have no imagination when it comes to matching jewelry with clothing, I have no idea what I'll actually wear it with. Believe it or not, this is a scary "thing" that I chose to tackle. "Buy the flashy item" is not easy for me, as I'm the shopper that sees bright, flashy things, yet tends to leave them in the store as I have no idea how to execute them. Here's to overcoming lack of imagination and actually wearing this little bling ball of color!

Day 337 - Therapy

I've been dealing with a headache now for what I'm guessing has been 24 hours or so. It's nothing that a trip to the chiropractor won't fix, however, my next appointment isn't until Monday. Until then, it's Advil, ice and rest, which do little to help with the painful, "ice-pick stabbing my brain" like pain. With that said, I surely didn't feel like going to work today and much less, dealing with the public.

Despite the lack of desire to get out of bed, I went to work hoping to feel better. I'm of the old adage that "If ya just get up and moving, you'll feel better". Well, that wasn't the case for today, but what did help me was a great dose of happy, puppy tail therapy. Shortly after I arrived at my dog training job, I saw two past clients with their Chihuahua in tow. Miss Fox (the cutest and only Chihuahua dog I like!) wiggled and yipped and barked in excitement as I approached her shopping cart. And then, all training went out the window! As she jumped about and squirmed, giving me silly puppy kisses, I couldn't help but just pet her and encourage her to do so. Several jumps, licks to my face and pettings later, she started to slowly calm down. As I chatted with her owners, they raved about their past training and were astonsihed at just how much Miss Fox was over joyed to see me.

With all this affection, my pain (although temporary) melted away and I was filled with nothing but happiness and appreciation for the moment. As I walked away, a much happier person, I couldn't help but hope that some day a human will get that excited to see me! Ahhh, some day. Until then, thank you Miss Fox, you totally made my day!

Day 336 - 30

Only thirty more posts to go for this, self induced, annual blog challenge - I can't believe I've made it this far! Today finds me enjoying my first Friday of the month off! That's right, I decided to use the rest of my vacation time by taking every Friday off in December. Today has afforded me to do some long over due "chores" and errands. Don't worry, before I worked the entire day away, I treated myself to a daring, Opi Red manicure. Oowww, sassy!

Day 335 - December

I can't believe December is already here. With it comes holiday celebrations and decorations, and well, more celebrations. But what happens when someone tells you that you can't show appreciation for your staff by celebrating over a holiday lunch or dinner? "Others might not want to take their staff out", is what I hear. Or, "Your team is small, and feelings might be hurt if other managers can't afford to take out their larger teams".

While I understand the concerns, today I bucked the system and took my staff out for lunch regardless of the things I've heard. While I did request my staff to keep the "mandatory staff meeting", on the down low, I hope that they know that I do appreciate them and the work they do, and taking them to lunch was the least I could do to show it. Sometimes, some "rules" just need to be broken.