A sense of accomplishment

So many things I have been putting off. I can always come up with very legitimate excuses to not do anything I want to avoid. Mop? No, I need to water my plants. Vacuum? Can't now. I must mail a birthday card. Clean out the refrigerator? I better get gas before it rains. See the pattern? I do things that I actually need to do and procrastinate over the less appealing tasks.

But today I had no plans, no appointments and no company so I got serious about cleaning. Some were routine tasks and others have been waiting patiently for me to address them. I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned my bathroom, changed the sheets, did four loads of laundry, vacuumed, rearranged my pantry to squeeze in the latest groceries, cleaned out the refrigerator and ironed clothes for the coming week. Now I am going to sit a while and pay bills, finish a book, and maybe watch a movie. I feel good but still feel guilty because I have yet to put away my snowman collection. What's up with that??

Six more weeks of this? No problem.

Here in Central Texas we do not have the ongoing winter weather that so many others deal with for months. This year we have had a couple of "ice days" that brought traffic to a halt but overall it has been pleasant. The problem is, once we get past the days when a coat is required, I never know how to dress. It starts out cold or windy or rainy so I end up wearing layers of clothing that are removed through the early part of the day and later replaced, layer by layer, as the sun sets. Lunch time around my place is pretty busy these days. (rim shot)

I have one sister who lives outside Minneapolis and a John Deere horse-powered snow shovel is a necessity for her family. The pile of ice and snow shoveled to one end of her long drive may not melt until July. My other sister lives in southern Florida. I still cannot relate to her blooming citrus trees around Christmas but she loves it there.

So for me, I am pleased to be in the moderate middle. But only when it comes to the weather.

I didn't die but I thought I might

Happy Valentines Day!

The last two months have been challenging to say the least but I am back and, hopefully, my humor is intact. There have been moments - no hours - where there was no humor and I sat on my couch with a vacant expression and no interest in life. What caused the funk? All I did was have gastric bypass surgery but it almost killed me and I am still struggling with life after GP. That's not to say I would not recommend this surgery to anyone. I would. Misery loves company. No, seriously, I had an unfortunate set back with my surgery but I have had several friends over the last ten years that have had RNY and lapband surgery and no one else had complications. It is just the way the cards fell. And everyone of us is glad we had the surgery. The positive aspects far outweigh the negative. But enough of that. I am happily crawling from the abyss and feel human again.

I see that in my absence I lost some readers. I understand. When cleaning out my blog I, too, have eliminated journalers who seemed to have dropped off the map. I hope they will see that I have returned and they will as well. And, thanks to those of you who sent me notes or left messages asking of my whereabouts. I sincerely appreciated it but did not have the energy at the end of the day to respond. That has been my biggest challenge. I should have taken off more time from work after the surgery but I jumped back into the fray after two weeks and that has slowed my recovery.

The company where I worked was sold and the doors closed. The corporation that purchased our little giant hired me as their new call center manager. In these tough economic times I am thrilled to be employed. We are building the Client Service Center from the ground up - policies and procedures, schedules, training materials, scripting, etc. and I am loving the challenge. I still wear the hat of the old company so I have been closing out the billing from there in addition to my new duties. It has been a while since I was responsible for a start-up operation and forgot how much energy is needed. But, with my new attitude, I am sure I can make it all happen.

Now, I am off to read your journals and catch up with you, my friends.