I Won!

I just got up and was feeding the cats.  I'm still at the stage where I have to oversee who is eating whose food.  Ten seconds in and Wallace and Winston want to switch up.  Anyways, I'm on my ipad, hanging out and policing everything, and I'm checking out new movie trailers (Jurasic World looks good).  I go to check out something on the internet and the new page shows me options based on recent visits and ESPN shows up.  I remember there were the football games last night.  I was tied for first place with two others.  And there were two Monday games due to having to reschedule Buffalo due to the snow so there really are a lot more in the running. For a moment I'm tempted to check right away, but am good and finish out the task I was working on.

A moment later I'm trying to load up the football page to see who won and hoping it was me or Dan since neither of us had won yet.  I had swung by his desk yesterday to introduce myself and wish him well.  And jokingly find out if he was a ravens or saints fan. I had decided to forgo my new system and go back to the basics - just picking teams based on the geographic location.  There was only one other person who got Thursday nights game - I lived next to Oakland and don't know anyone in Kansas City. Looks like the old system is golden!  I ended up picking Baltimore over New Orleans since I really don't know anyone in the south and we would sometimes fly into Baltimore to visit my grandparents and I've been there a bunch for work - several Baltimore projects in the office. 

I'm so excited I won.  I can sit pretty knowing I came out ahead this year. Of course the other thing now, is that I'm a little closer to third spot overall for the season.  I had started off strong and was first for several weeks, dropped to second and stayed there for awhile and then quickly jumped down to third and then fourth and then fifth. But now, I'm back up to fourth. 

Five games left to gain three points and be back in the running.  It seems so simple on paper. Not likely in reality.  But from here on out I'm just going to play my old way. There's really no rhyme or reason but I've learned that's the case with these games, especially with all the upsets this season.  

Anyways, great way to start the day! And today's my last day of work this week - I'm taking the rest of the week off to celebrate Thanksgiving with mom and nick.

Monday Round-Up

This was a home weekend for me.  Nothing too excited and I spent the weekend catching up on sleep, getting things in order for my mom’s visit today and general life stuff.

1.     Style.  As I’ve been slowly weeding out my closet and tracking what I wear and what I don’t really touch, I’ve been forced to figure out what my style is.  I’ve been trying to figure it out anyways as I move into the next chapter of my life.  With my upcoming Paris trip, I’ve been planning and figuring out what to see and do.  One common thread is what not to wear when in Paris.  Parisians are always stylish and you stick out like a sore thumb when you dress with some of our American habits.   I’ve been searching through the internet to figure out what shoes to wear in winter that are both comfy and warm while staying stylish. On a side note, I stumbled upon Coach shoes.  They are a bit pricier but I have a pair of ballet flats I wore almost all summer and a pair of wine red loafers I’ve been wearing this past month that are just really really comfortable.  They are the most comfortable shoes in my closet and well worth the little extra cost.

 Searching for the winter Parisian style, I stumbled upon a larger area of Parisian style.  I’ve been reading up on different approaches and came across a common theme, “une femme d’un certain age”.  It’s frustratingly non-specific other than keep to classic neutrals and have a pop of style through accessories, shoes or piece of clothing.  I’ve figured I just need to stalk some stylish women on pinterest.  I’m also planning on taking note on my Paris trip.

This weekend, I was making a run to return something to TJ Maxx and ended up walking out the door with a few elements for the closet.  Near the end of the shopping visit, I stumbled upon The navy blazer.  I had been looking for one for ages - something that can be worn with jeans but is dressy enough for work.  I couldn’t believe I found the perfect one - it fits exactly right, the fabric is better than I could imagine, and the color is just right.  It’s from Theory which is one of my go-to stores.  I also picked up a classic white shirt from Theory, that is a little quirky, a pair of Coach loafers for the spring and a cream silk blouse from Marc Jacobs.  What was interesting was that I found I was already editing when perusing the racks.  I would find pieces I liked, but then realized they didn’t fit in with my over all image I was building.  I was happy to see I’ve started heading in the right direction.

This morning, I was putting together the basics and was trying to figure out how to make it more Parisian.  I ended up adding the red wine loafers and keep my accessories to some larger, funky earrings.  Everything else is well tailored and kept simple and clean.  Next up is taking the critical eye to the closet and not only axing favorites that don’t really fit, but also identifying the gaps.

 

2.     Water.  Following on the Parisian style theme, one item that is consistent is that it’s not just about the clothes but also how you take care of yourself.  Reading up on different blogs and articles, I found one that really fit my gut instinct (strange pun since I’m consciously wanting to keep my gut in check).  It mentioned to drink a lot of water.  Which I already knew, but it put it into perspective.  Basically, you should drink half your weight in water.  That equates to about 65 oz for me (130 lbs).  Which is equal to just under 6 glasses of water.  So at work today, I started a new system to track what glass I’m on.  On one of my monitors, I have 6 tabs, and as I finish each glass, I move a tab over to the other screen.  I try to get half way through (or more) before lunch.  As I work, I’m noticing the tab and I am reminded to drink some more water.  So far so good, but I’m not quite through one day yet, so a little too early to tell.  Plus I’m not wild about having to run to the bathroom more frequently.  Ugh.

3.     Nesting.  As I edit my wardrobe, I’ve been editing my house and belongings too.  Everything is slow going as I slowly come to terms that some items, although nice, aren’t really part of my core love.  This weekend I spent some more time on the endless picture project.  I have art and other items that I’ve slowly been framing.  The idea is that if I don’t have the art on the walls, I really shouldn’t be keeping it and out it goes.  This weekend I spent some time cutting out the frame boards and matching up art with frames.  Some are just absolutely lovely and a perfect framing job (the Mongolian huts Nick brought back from China works great with the silver frame I got at the VT dump for free).  Others are almost there, but something is off - not quite the right frame, or backing frame board.  Figured this is something I can have mom help with - figuring out the framing and then also the hanging of the art.  Of course, I’m getting to the point where I have a lot of art up on the walls already so need to make sure I’m editing and not having things too crowded.  Always a challenge! 

4.     Cleaning.  I do say I have gotten a lot better with cleaning.  I was very close to getting a cleaning lady once a month and then it dawned on me that all my cleaning woes are associated with things that require cleaning more often than weekly.  Mainly due to the cats.  So a cleaning lady would be nice but not address the route issue and I’d be in the same predicament.  I think I stumbled upon some tips on pinterest and between the tips and a change in mindset, it’s a lot better.  Something from my time management book is that you should take things to the end.  For instance, if you are done with dinner, clear the dishes, and instead of just leaving them in the sink/counter, take the extra few seconds to put them in the dishwasher.  This goes across all topics and really makes a difference.  I’ve been keeping things pretty tidy.  And then cleaning, the biggest tip, is the 4 minute clean.  During the evening while you’re watching TV, when the commercials come on, go do a quick clean, like wipe down the bathroom, or sweep, or vacuum.  It’s amazing that the chores are really so short on their own and can be done in such a short period.  It also keeps you from going into the deep vortex of wanting to clean everything to the nth degree which is completely unnecessary.  I will periodically tackle a bigger cleaning chore on the weekend.  A few weekends ago, I went through the house and while putting in the storm windows, I washed the windows.  I had set a time so when I realized I was going to run out of time, I only washed the windows I would notice (skipped the bedrooms and study).  It’s been great!

 

 

 

And that's me.  As I was downloading pictures, I forgot about a lunch I had on friday with work colleagues.  I ordered the french onion soup and it tasted as deliscious as it looked!

Candy

A few months ago I heard a study linking sugar and cholesterol.  I’ve always had a sweet tooth and know it contributes to my dental woes, weight gain and now looks like it might hurt my cholesterol numbers.  I’ve been good at cutting out simple carbs but have trouble with sugar.  So after hearing this “new” study (I did a search and found an article on it, from a few years ago), I decided to start reducing my sugar intake - starting with candy.  I was brought up eating minimal candy.  However, I’ve enjoyed my freedom as an adult.  If I want to indulge in one or two or four Cadbury cream eggs at Easter, you know what, I can, and have.  Last month I made a conscious decision to not eat candy.  I don’t buy it often, but every once in awhile I will indulge.  I have found that sugar begets sugar.  Over the holidays I’ll end up eating a lot of sweets - pies, cookies, etc. And come January I crave dessert after dinner. 

I can’t remember what day I stopped, but I’ve been good.  Halloween candy sales were bombarding me - super good deals on really good candy.  And I passed it by.  I come into work after Halloween, and everyone has their extra Halloween candy on their desks and in the kitchens.  And I pass it by.  I pop into the store after Halloween and everything is on super sale, including the candy corn which I love.  No deal.  Today, I’m craving chocolate after my lunch, so I went to the fridge at work to get my chocolate tapioca I brought in and I see this:

 

We got a new coffee machine on our floor - they kind of just pushed it into the coat rack section awkwardly.  And to entice people, there is candy strewn on the counters.  Man - right when I’m at my weakest, craving chocolate sweetness.  I was so tempted and started making the case.  “They’re mini-size. I’ll only eat one.  It’s just as much sugar as in my tapioca”.  But I held strong and grabbed my tapioca and headed back to my desk.

I still eat a lot of sugar.  I’m just much more conscious of the amounts and try to only eat sugar that I put into my food - so no processed food with sugar.  I’ve experimented with my breakfast - reducing sugar amounts in my pancakes, no more sugar on my grapefruits.  And experimenting with sweet alternatives.  I’ve made these energybites a few times which is really good.  And I stumbled upon Gluten Free Bites, coconut cashew crunch that are so good - they’re like candy, but healthy and no refined sugar.  I think Stop and Shop sells them, otherwise I’m ordering some from their website.

Slow but surely, I’m planning on reducing my sugar intake, one category at a time.  I’m hoping my cravings will dissipate slowly. 

Kitten update

I keep thinking Webster and Wallace are full grown and then they grow some more. I was folding laundry this weekend in the sun room and they wanted to be part of it all. Winston was off napping in the sun spot on the guest bed. 

They were playing with each other at first. Webster's on the chair in both photos.  

And then Webster had his fill and left Wallace. 

She usually is last man standing during playtime. The boys tire out before she does. But that doesn't matter, she makes new friends to play with. 

Like a chair. She loves gnawing on things. (No chairs were damaged during this photo shoot). 

Webster just observes and waits and wonders if he's really related to his crazy sister. But Wallace just keeps playing. 

Her goal is to catch the sheets as I fold - making it a little tricky and reminding me I need to trim her nails again. 

Eventually she tires and the two of them curl up together and doze while I finish with laundry. Webster is on the right, Wallace on the left. Strange photo angle since Webster is noticeably bigger than his sister in real life. 

A little while later while I'm in the kitchen Webster is relentlessly trying to get at something under the oven. I finally pull it out to see what was caught underneath and found this:

All the mice toys - 8 in total, my sink scouring pad that went missing and the bottle cap that Webster had just been playing with. Now I know to check here first before going to the pet store to buy more toys!

Morning commute race

I'm getting ready this morning and check my phone app to see when the next bus is coming and it says 1 minute with the next buses not coming for 15-20 minutes.  So I run out the door grabbing my jacket, bag, keys and sunglasses. I'm dashing down my street and see the bus but I'm in luck because it's stopped at the red light on the Main Street. I round the corner and am running to the end of the block thinking I'll make it. 

As I'm running I see two other guys coming from the opposite direction also running. It's like the Amazing Race on an early Tuesday morning. Who will get to the stop first. I'm the farthest away but I also notice something is different. Like a tree was cut down. And then it clicks - the bus stop sign pole is gone. A moment later the guys get to where the pole used to be and realize it's gone too and are looking all around. By then, still running, I've spotted the new location of the bus stop a little further down on the corner across the street. 

As I'm running up to the old stop we all comment that the bus stop is gone and I point out the new location and as I'm running by they join up but I've got momentum on my side. And I get to the new stop first a split second before the bus pulls up. I win!

As we're boarding we're wondering when it happened. One guy said he saw the old stop just last week. I swear I boarded the bus yesterday at the old stop. And I think I saw it last night as I was coming home - but it was dark and I wasn't really paying attention to the bus stop but think I remember someone waiting there. Or was that a different night? 

As we board the young lady driving the bus is just as surprised as we are and comments, "they moved the bus stop - when did this happen?"

A fun little moment this morning a la Amazing Race style. It means I'll need a little more time or I need to get faster for my morning dash.

Shopping

One of the things that have shifted for me this year are my shopping habits. The fun shopping - non essentials.  One thing has been I've been going through and trying to do a deep cleaning of my stuff based on the project 33 premise. Basically you wear 10% of your wardrobe 90% of the time.  As I've been more critical of what I buy for clothes same goes for the rest. The other thing, is that I've slowly been recovering from TJ Maxx syndrome.  I still shop there but it's taken time to learn how to pass up the great deals on stuff I don't exactly need or doesn't exactly fit.   It's been about 6 months since my last visit where I left the store spending $8. 

This weekend I had my errands to run that included searching for items on the eternal list.  Basically stuff I'd like to get but can take my time to find just the right one like a new bathrobe since my current one is still functional but has seen better days.  So it was time to hit TJ Maxx/Home Goods store and hope I didn't leave empty handed with nothing crossed off the list.   

By days end, I had spent a good chunk of change, regressed on one my secret pleasures (bedding) and stumbled upon a bunch of goodies.

1. Accidentally went to KMart since I forgot Home Goods doesn't open until 11 am. I found the vacuum I was wanting to buy and on sale for $20 less then Best Buy.  And one less store to visit.  I got my first stick vacuum in the hopes that if I don't have to lug out and plug in a vacuum I'll be more likely to vacuum frequently. I'm not a big fan of the colors but from research it looked like the best one for my needs and seems promising from my quick vacuum this morning before it was fully charged. 

2. While at KMart I looked for storage bags for my trunk to corral all the emergency gear. Found something that was cheap and would work brilliantly but they only had one left in black and I wanted three. So visited a second store later in day and while heading to the check out see a lady with cat stuff and figure I can get cat toys here and cross off having to visit Petco. Not only did I find the cats' new favorite toys, they had the perfect cat carriers - right size, color, price and sturdiness!  Another thing to cross off the eternal list. I had been looking everywhere and not finding anything.

3. On to Marshals which opens at 10 am. I was doing good, having already crossed a few things off the list.  And this is where I go a little rogue. I enjoyed a leisurely perusal of the aisles and was using my new system - no cart and just making note in my head of things to come back and get at the end of the shopping.  If I didn't remember it, likely I don't really need it. And studies show that you are 90% more likely to buy something you pick up and carry around.  About half way through I had to break down and get a cart. I got a lovely Calphone saucepan - not on the list, but useful and already used it today.  I got some clinique skin care goodies - not on the list specifically although on the general list - "look into better skin care products for my older skin".  A few other kitchen and beauty products made it into the cart - but nothing too bad. And then I hit the linens section.

4. A little bit about me and linens. I don't know why but I love linens like some women love shoes. I can have more than I really use, but can't resist the beauty. I'm speaking bedding really.  Ever since my twenties my heart skips a beat when I spy a beautiful set of sheets. So much so, I put a self imposed ban a few years back.  This fall I went through my stash and put together "outfits". Sometimes I get individual sheets (flat only) and I've got tens one beautiful blankets and duvet covers.  I weeded out the pieces I wasn't in love with anymore or couldn't find an outfit for.  I got it down to a good dozen sets/outfits. I noted the gaps I still had - a duvet color in x color to go with three sheet sets.   So when I stumbled upon some wonderful pieces in clearance, I started to revisit the gap list. On it was a set of new white crisp sheets since I no longer had a set - that justified the first bag to go into the cart. The beautiful red duvet cover went in since I knew I had a gap in my duvet covers - in it goes (although I couldn't quite think of what sheet outfits would go with this particular duvet.  Part of me definitely looked the other way.)

Accolades

I don't usually write about the specifics of work because I believe there is a professional responsibility of confidentiality - don't air your dirty laundry online for all to see. But I wanted to record a moment of today. As my boss says, it's always good to end the week with good news. 

As a preface, I've been working on my leadership role. Both pushing for the position but also learning and observing those around me as I refine my "executive presence". I have one project I was managing that wrapped up earlier this year with a study of our findings. Today, We were presenting to the team we had been working with but also, more importantly, to a new team working on another project that is being done in parallel. 

We are sub-contracted to another firm who is prime.  "Niall", from the prime firm, and I prepped last week for the presentation for today. I had thought it was what it seemed at face value - presenting our findings and hopefully moving to the next stage of the project. 

But as the meeting progressed there was a lot of discussion about this other project that is happening in parallel. A lot of the issues and questions that were being raised were right in my area of expertise. Not only was I able to speak knowledgeably, I was also able to weave in the bigger picture and indirect marketing. As a result we were asked to come back and continue our efforts, not only for the project we initially did the study for but also for this other project. And in a role we don't usually get asked to the table - informing team selection and other up front work.  It's really exciting. 

As I was walking back to the office I knew I had done a good job, leading the discussions and shining. But I didn't realize how well until I get the following message from the fellow who heads up the existing project we had been working on:

"I thought you did an excellent job today. "Louis" is very tough to win over and he would not have asked to have you come back if he was not impressed."

I quickly did some research online and found out "Louis" is one of the top guys.  So even more of a compliment. As I said before - a great way to end the work week. 

Subway Sighting

Looks like tall, no heel, brown boots are the fashion at the moment. At least in the subway car I'm in. 

Four pairs in my eye line! And if I look to my right a few more. 

Voting

This morning I woke up at 3 am with a good idea for a work issue but then was wide awake. Ugh. With the little ones, once I'm up they are up and are content to play around in my bedroom. Wallace likes to jump on top of my bureau and play with curtains. Sometimes I swear she's hanging from them by her claws like something out of a cartoon (not really - no harm done to the curtains).  Webster discovered the trim of one of the antique chairs I plan to reupholster and likes to tug at it, slowly pulling it off and giving me a head start. 

Unfortunately it's right above my neighbors bed and has woken Cathy up. So I've been trying to be good and not lounge in bed if I'm not going back to sleep. So this morning was a relaxing morning of puttering and catching up on chores. Before I knew it the morning had flown by and time to catch the bus. 

As I was leaving I realized the polls might be open and thought I'd try voting in the morning instead of after work since my first meeting isn't until later in the morning. 

I'd like to think I'm a good citizen and would vote every year regardless. But it doesn't hurt having your polling station a block away, right next to your bus stop. 

The line was out the door and moved slowly. I had my suspicions it was a case of the LOL - little old ladies. They've become friendly faces each year as I vote. And in the evening the line is minimal and no rush to get anywhere so they were quite endearing. This time, not so much, so I took my book out and distracted myself from the slowest line ever. Both when checking in and checking out I had to point my name out on the page, once they got to the right page. I saw a few others do the same. 

I love my voting location. It's in town hall and this year they strung up some lights. It was quite festive and New Englandy. 

Well I get to check one thing off my to-do list. On a different note, I was very good yesterday. It's like a mini Halloween at work where people bring in extra candy and you can go trick or treating on each floor - the kitchens are full of goodies. I've been scaling back on refined sugars in the diet. It's been hard fighting the sweet tooth but I have a feeling they contribute to the love handles. Plus I swear I saw an article on a recent study starting to link sugar and high cholesterol. Can't find it now. Anyways, I've been good with all the temptation. Maybe I'll bake myself a cake as a reward!  JK! 

Winona Ryder

Today has been a long day. I was about to start on the project I was trying to get to all day when I saw it was close to 7 pm. I decided to take a break and chat with a colleague on my floor also staying late. We're both juggling too much and it was good to chat. He appreciated having someone to talk to that cares. So that was good deed of the day. 

On the flip side he gave me a nice compliment. He said he liked my new hair cut which is about two weeks old. We've both been traveling for work hence the delayed compliment. He said, "I like the haircut. You look like that actress from Reality Bites."  That was really sweet. 

I've just found a way to finally style the cut. I had tried using the straight iron and doing the tousled curl. But the cut was hitting some of my natural waves in a strange way. And then I remembered the blow dryer brush and not only does it style the best it's super fast. Win win!

I've been meaning to take a picture to post but forget. But realize I shouldn't post without a picture. So while I'm waiting for my bus in the cold, I pulled my hat off and took a horrible picture of my new hair cut with hat head. Anyways, you can see the length. The back is a bit shorter than the front. Actually you can't see it that well. The front is hitting my jaw line. It's very flat in this picture. The dry weather is doing me in!

After our conversation I realized I was coming up to 12 hours at work so said enough and headed home. It's not the end of the world if something is late.