Techy Two-Step

Well, you know it had to happen sooner or later. Work is not work without another technological problem for me to submit to our help desk. Here's my most recent submission.

Doing the old two-step to Brad Paisley
Impaired [Customer - Shalee

Now I know I can't dance. Never could, probably never will. But the way that I'm having to two-step around the internet by getting access to it is wearing me out! But hey, I'm catching the rhythm a bit! You should see me move to Brad Paisley's song "Online"...

Please. I'm such a white girl from the South. The best I can do is to do a knee-jerk move that really makes me look as if I have epilepsy set to music. Would someone please stop the music and allow me to get on the net without all this movin' and groovin'? Because it is not a pretty sight when I step on the dance floor. I'm better at being a wallflower.

I received an email not only from the Regional IT Manager, telling me "I LOVE IT!" (which you all know is pure excitement in the IT world), but I also received a call from the area's IT personel who called to complain that someone beat him to the request first. That's the way you want your IT department: fighting over you.

The problem was fixed in no time. My dancing? Not so much...

The Techies? They're Quicker Than I Thought...

Well as far as I'm concerned, you can teach old dogs new tricks... For example, here is the last Tech Support incident that I submitted on work last Friday.

Problem Description - [(Shalee) -- 05/23/08 10:07 AM] My printer has checked out for the long weekend already...

Although you and I know that the holiday weekend doesn't officially start until 5 PM tonight, my printer has decided to leave early. I imagine that it's thinking of all the techno-partying it's going to do while we're out grilling and relaxing, and who could blame it? I could see how the printer would like to hook up to the scanner when it gets a chance. I know that I get a little more festive when my boss is gone... However, I'm still here, and I still need it to work until I call it quitting time. Would you please talk some sense into my machine? I need it to stick with me until my day is done. (I'm all for leaving early, but the printer can't go until I go!)

[Close Description][Closed by McCormick, Douglas -- 05/23/08 11:02 AM]

Turned the printer off and on and it reconnected to the Network and started printing all of her recipes.

Did you catch that? The technician totally copped a joke and poked fun at me all at the same time. Oh, they're alearnin' there. They're alearnin'! (And for the record, Doug told me that I would have been helped even sooner, but the team had to quit laughing first. Now that's the way to start a 3-day weekend!)

Room With A View

Man oh man. have I been busy! I've unloaded and unpacked every box for my parts of the office, which when I think about it is all of it except my coworkers' offices. Whew! Was I glad to have an excuse to leave early yesterday. I had to go pick up some materials with which to hang all the pictures. Guess what we'll be doing today.

I have to tell you - I love this new office. It's 10 minutes closer to home, I have a lot more privacy in this space and I have a wall of windows that looks onto a pretty view. See?
Here are Hoops and Yoyo bobble heads gazing out into the sunshiny view.  Ahhh. Sun!

And do you see what I have just across the way? 

A Panera! Woo hoo! I was really hoping that the internet connection from Panera would reach our office, but alas - no. I'm going to have to hang out there a bit when lunch time rolls around. Oh the glory of being able to comment on Blogger blogs in the daytime! (Stupid work filter!)

And this picture is just for Kelli. Thanks for helping me to start the first day in the office in style. That Mocha was just what the caffeine addict ordered.

Guess who sits by the thermostat? Ha ha ha! No more freezing for me! Well until there's a meeting and all the stuffed shirts come in and get all hot around the collar. I'll turn it down on those days and then turn on my illegal space heater. Shhh! Don't tell!

Last night, Mr. Right and I watched I Am Legend. Oh. My. Lands. Why Will Smith did not get an Oscar nod is beyond me. It was so well acted that one could not help but imagine what it would be like to be alone in the vastness of the world while trying to make it better. If you haven't seen it, I highly, highly recommend that you do. It's a cross genre film: part drama, part sci-fi, part suspense, part scary (without much gore) with a dash of love and a very visible belief in God. Just go see it for yourself and then let me know what you thought of it.

Oh, and y'all aren't putting any pressure or anything on me with the reviews. Fonda, you totally made my day with your comment yesterday! (I'd have written you personally, but you're a "no-reply" commenter. You should change that!) Knowing that I can bring some goodness to the reading populace fills me with a giddy, "that's what I'm talking about!" response. And for the record, I have to review the sucky ones too. How else would you know to avoid drivel like this? (That particular book makes me sick and angry just thinking it - no only was it pure c**p, it was also a waste of good trees to put it on the shelf. Okay, I'm stopping now.)

I'm going to finish eating the pizza that the office brought into the office yesterday. I'd never tried Pizza Shoppe before now. It's pretty good. But I have to say that I'm not digging the fungus on top. Yuck. I'm eating it cold, so it's not as easy to remove it as you would think. 

What topping would you like to see removed permanently from the world of pizza?

Reunited - Makes Me Feel So Good

Oh. My. Lands.

My ears are still ringing.  Between the The Girl and her friend Bailey laughing and singing and playing and then The Boy and Bailey having a few tickle wars, my senses were on overload, especially since it's been so calm around the house for the past week.

I knew I missed the little critters, but it's always amazing how much my heart leaps when I see them after a long visit.  It really makes me want to cry with sadness from the depth of realization that I've longed for their hugs and then tears of joys that I get to have that sadness immediately removed.  Last night was such a wonderful time to meet, greet and eat... and then pile into the various cars for a 2 hour drive home.

On the way home they kept saying how tired they were.  (They had been up late all week long and it was really catching up to them.)  But because we're mean, we made them stay awake the entire time.  Hey, I wanted them to go to bed when they got home!  But wouldn't you know it?   They perked right up when they saw the new addition in the garage!  They opened every door and crawled into the backseat as if they were ready for another trip.  We'll give them a ride in it sometime later.

Oh, it's good to have the family back together again!  As much as we longed for the couple time, it's always so nice to have the daily squirmishes in the background to seal our love.

Oh and with all the car stuff that we had been through on our "romantic break from the kids" (HA!), I've been meaning to share with you the news about our office.

Look at these... 

In addition to preparing a house and looking for new wheels, I've been packing up our office. Not just my stuff, but all the items in our copier space and just yesterday, I had the good news that I was also packing up my boss' office. Joy oh joy. This is the same man that doesn't want anyone to touch his stuff. I'm not kidding. He's a little OCD when it comes to fingerprints, natural body oils and just his stuff in general. Wanna mess with his mind? Go in and ever-so-slightly alter the position of a picture either on his desk or on the wall. It will drive him nuts until he gets everything back in order. (Not that I've done that, mind you... It's all just a hypothetical guess. Oh look, something shiny!)

Come Monday, they'll all be in a new office. Yeah, baby!!! This move has come so quickly (not really, but with the car thing, it seems really fast); I'm going to have new walls beginning next week. Oh, I can't wait! No more wall of uncovered windows. No more misdirected traffic. No more 14 steps to walk to the office door. (Hey, that's actually bad... I need that exercise. Well, having a large, shared parking lot will make up for it.) Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of my new digs on Monday.

As it's almost Easter, I wish you all the joy of knowing our Savior who died on a day like today for all of our sins. Even if you don't believe it, it still happened just the same. You think this thought is amazing? Just wait two days from now when that same man came back to life and brought redemption to this world. Now that's amazing.

WFMW - Online Shopping

Well, I must be frank.  No, I'm Shalee being frank, but not in a transvestite sense either...

I very much dislike shopping.  I'm such the atypical girl.  I love having new things and girly stuff, but I want someone to either give it to me or to do all the mix and matching for me.  I'm a real go-getter, aren't I? I don't even have the patience to look at things online...  after a while, my eye starts to twitch and my pulse races, not in a good way.

And the retail prices!  Sheeze Louise, how can people pay what is charged at the mall?  I've have so many other things on which I would prefer to spend that money - like groceries or a date night with Mr. Right.

But now and then, I need to find a particular item fast, and I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it.  So I head to Amazon.  That's where I not only find great deals, I can locate hard to find items as well.

For example, my favorite cookbook, Betty Crocker Old Fashioned Cookbook, has been out of print forever.  About two years ago, I spilt something that appears to have contained industrial glue or liquid sugar in it, all over the book.  Oh what a sad discover I had when I found that I couldn't separate some pages.

I've looked for a replacement since then, and lo and behold, one day I found three of them on Amazon.  Woo hoo!  Life is good again.

I also found the perfect Valentine's gift.  It's something that I know my entire family will love and find funny at the same time.  Plus, I'll be introducing a certain fine culture to my kids as well.  I can't say because Mr. Right reads the blog.  I've kept it a secret for a month now, and I don't want to botch it this close to Valentine's Day.

There are a few times I actually have to make a purchase online and when I do, I always check to see if there are codes that will give me a savings.  So before you press buy, take a few minutes to Google "(name of store) online codes".  You will be thankful that you did.

When buying Christmas presents for my boss this year, I talked him into digital photo frames for the ladies, mainly because I did NOT want what he was originally getting for everyone.  So I found the best deal at Target.com, did a search for Target online codes, and saved 10% on the entire purchase, which for him was around $100 dollars.  Not only did I save the company money, I made myself look good for taking the extra initiative to find a deal.

And that, my friends, may make me some more money in the long run come evaluation time.

Head on over to Shannon's place for some more ideas on online shopping.  I'm sure those other  entries will have way more fantastic ideas than this non-shopaholic.

WFMW - Just Let Go

Yesterday in the office, I was chatting with one of my coworkers.  (Basically, we were avoiding work at all cost, but we were socializing at the same time.  You'd totally want me working for you, wouldn't you?)  

Anyway, as we were talking, our landlord (who is a teddy bear of a guy and has been doing a lot of work throughout the building) opened the door with a fellow workman and had a hangdog look on his face.  I said, "Gaylord, I haven't talked with you in a while.  How are you?"  

"Oh.  You won't like what I have to say," he said.

"Are you turning off the hot water again?" I teased.

"No," he sighed.

"Are you turning off the power?" I asked, thinking it was awfully cold for him to do so, but hey, it gave me a legitimate reason to go home early!  (It was cold something fierce with the wind blowing and snow swirling.  I could really use a to day to read take a nap watch a movie to work at home.)

"No," he sighed again.

Then it hit me.  "Gaylord, did you hit my car?!"  I inquired.

"Yes, and I feel just so terribly about it.  Come and see it."

The driver's side had a scratched across four of the panels and the mirror was hanging on by a single wire.  He gave me a hug and said, "I'll admit to 100% fault here.  I just feel so badly.  I was trying to back into a parking space to fill the truck and while looking at the curb, I hit your car.  I'm just so sorry."

I turned to him and said, "Gaylord, I've got insurance.  I'm not going to worry about it.  It's okay."

He gave me his insurance card, stating that his insurance would pay for it all.  I ran in to make a copy of it.  When I came back out, Gaylord said, "Shalee, I just feel so awful about this. I can't tell you enough."

Sweetly I said, "Gaylord, you feel badly about it if you need to, but then you knock it off.  It's just a car.  Things can be replaced.  No one's hurt and that's all that matters.  It's really okay."

Seeing the look of disbelief and relief in Gaylord's and the other workman's eyes was worth every moment of not being upset, worried or frustrated.  I could see they were expecting anger, tears or emotions, but all they got was forgiveness.  You could tell that a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.  And I felt really good about doing that for them.

And it gave me a glimpse of what I look like when I experience the grace from God.

Head on over to Shannon's place for some excellent tips on how to make life a little easier.

Saved By Computer Woes

Really, I don't know why that post published twice. Maybe Blogger is feeling a bit sorry for me and decided to give y'all double the fun... And I don't want to get rid of the first one because there's a great comment on it. So, for now, it stays.

It's rainy here. I'm tired. It would have been a perfect day for staying home, curling up with a good book and a cup of tea, and reading all the blogs that I want to read. Now that I think about it, wouldn't everyday be a good day for that?

Yeah, I need that job.

Speaking of job, as I'm sitting here in a Chinese food-induced coma, I figure that I would (hopefully) give Kelli another post on which to smile.

I hope she knows that every IT request I submit, I submit with her in mind. Especially if she's reading this drivel at 2 in the morning...

Submit (Incident # - ID1461275 ) Hallelujah! My scanning program has converted...

Problem Description - [(Shalee) -- 01/10/08 12:02 PM]

I noticed a change in my scanning program about a month ago, back when it was hanging out with some men with pamphlets and the Scanning Bible. Not long after this time, it left for a tent revival and it came back saving in a whole new way. Before this sudden conversion, it used to offer me all sorts of options as to how to save scanned documents, but now it only sees one way of being saved - through a tif. No other way is available in its mind's eye now. It's either a tif or else you go straight to h - e - double toothpicks. No PDF, no Word Document,
nothing. This is causing some complications between me and my fellow degenerates in this business world who can't open files eye to eye.

Would you please give my scanning program a good talking? I'm not saying it has to give up tiffs entirely. Everyone's entitled to their own viewpoints. But I need some flexibility or else I'm going to prove to it that there's a devil here who wishes she could wear Prada. Don't
let that fool you; I can be just as mean in Ann Taylor too.

I received a call in minutes regarding my problem. Ray laughed and said, "(Your IT requests) make me cry, Shalee. I mean that in a really good way."

Upon his fixing the problems (I don't know what he did, but I watched him open all sorts of windows and click all sorts of things. I know - I'm an IT wizard, aren't I?)

His closing description to my submittal?

Work Description - [Close Description]
[Closed by Ray -- 01/10/08 01:26 PM]
the devil received prada - thus working correctly now

Did you notice what I noticed?  I think I'm doing good deeds all over the company when our IT department responds with humor in kind.  And the angels in heaven rejoiced!

Interwebs: I Have A Problem

Well, it’s not really a problem per se. Well, no it is, but it’s one that can be remedied in a day or two and a little cash.

So here’s where I totally come clean and tell you what a thieving blogger I am. Forgive me, webfriends, for I have sinned.

You see, when we moved into the house a couple of years ago, we had every intention of getting DSL. We were all set for it. We had the number on the to-do list, but we hadn’t gotten down that far because you know when you move into a house, you have no energy to anything other than try to convince your better half that he is the one who is supposed to call out for Chinese food because your body hurts more than his and you can’t possibly do anything other than eat and watch a movie.

And as we pulled out the laptop to watch some mindless movie when we really should be putting food in our pantry and finding our bathroom bag that had the toothbrushes because despite the exhaustion of a move, bad breath will does not take a vacation, we discovered to our surprise that we had internet access already. What that really meant is that we were piggybacking on someone’s wireless router. And since we were really feeling the crunch after a move (did you know that it’s expensive just to move across town?), we thought why buy the services now when we can wait a couple of months when whoever has the wireless blocks us from it?

And so we waited. And used the internet. And waited. And used the internet. (Rinse and repeat for 2 ½ years.)

But lo' and behold, we came back from our Christmas trip at Grandma’s house to discover that someone got some firewall security for Christmas. And we have no internet access from home. Bummer.

So as I’m stopping by the library just so I can post, I’m just telling you that posting may be a bit scarce over the next few days while we decide which service is best for us. But who knows? I might just swing over to McDonald's on my lunch break just to keep you on your toes!



Oh, and it’s also the reason I’ve not been at your blogs in a while. I’m not ignoring you. I’m just immobile for the moment. I am reading you on my breaks at work, but if you’re on Blogger, I’m blocked from your comments. Darn work filters!!! It's as if they expect one to actually WORK there... What is this world coming to?

But don’t you worry your pretty little heads about us. We’ve seen the errors of our ways and we won’t do it again… unless when we move, we find the same cheap deal at our next house. (Just kidding! Sheesh, don’t you all start ragging on me in the comments section; well I guess you can. I won’t see it for the next few days anyway…)

Tis The Season To Spread Some Humor

It's been too long since I last posted about my dealings with IT - too, too long. I have to make sure that we're keeping our IT department in business, so I too do my part to give them things to do.

Last week, out of the blue, I could not get my Calendar in Outlook to work properly. It would open so that I could view it, but I could not open a new or previously created appointment. When you're the conference call organizer and the RVP Executive Assistant, this exemption potentially could lead to some trouble on my end.  

Everyone knows that I can get into enough trouble on my own; I don't need any additional help.

So I did what any good worker bee would do; I passed it on to others who have the know-how to fix it. Only I did it in my own special way - as usual.

Problem Description - [(Shalee) -- 11/29/07 10:57 AM]

Not only is it not sending me my reminders, when I try to open the Calendar, it shuts itself down quicker than a typical man in an emotional conversation. Basically, it's turning its back on me and ignoring my requests of opening previously scheduled appointments, and it refuses to make itself available when I need it.

Hmph. I'm so not letting it get on or past first base when it's acting like this. And they say women are moody...

Can you please talk some sense into the Calendar and make it do my bidding? Because really, I am the Queen and I prefer that the Calendar remember just who is in control.

I'm happy to say that I've had several immediate calls in regards to this work request - all from men. My favorite response came from the our regional IT guy who called me from his doctor's office. He had taken time off to have something looked at when my request came over the wire. He had to call me to tell me that he was laughing so hard his sides hurt. He just wanted to be the first to respond. (He wasn't, the slacker!)

My second favorite response was from our IT guy's boss who works across the country from me. There's no telling how he saw it, but he singled me out to make sure that someone was on my request.  

Hey, maybe I am the Queen after all.

WFMW - Reading the Writing on the Wall

Disclaimer:  I'm only telling this situation in our marriage to make a point.  I know that I am blessed beyond comprehension with Mr. Right, but even he has times when he's not perfect.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Right made me really mad.  So mad and unappreciated, I basically told yelled at him not to talk to me anymore and walked away stomped upstairs thinking him the biggest cad on earth.  I was ready to be good and angry with him for a while.  

Since I was all dirty from some hard work outside, I decided to take a shower to steam off.  Hey I was already steaming mad, I might as well have the real thing too.  After I stepped into the shower, I promptly saw this:

And then this:

>

For a while now, Mr. Right and I have been leaving little messages of love to each other as a way of expressing whatever happens to be on our heart.  (It's easy to do when you have those bath crayons.)

As I stood there rereading the note of love that I had recently written to my man and then the visual representation of Mr. Right's love for me, I felt that anger run right off of me down into the drain.

So in conclusion, I basically have two points: take the time to write down words of love to your mate and then remember to read them when you're wondering why on earth you gave your heart to that person. You may need to be reminded of the silver linings now and then.

(Oh, and these notes work wonders with children too. Our girl LOVES to get messages in the shower too. She feels really special that we would take the time to write to her.)

For some extra super duper words of advice, head on over to Shannon's for more WFMW.

Well, My BatGirl Costume Must Be Returned...

But not my Starbucks Card from Kelli, thank goodness!  (I called her and she gave me her blessing to use it in a celebratory fashion.  That woman is just too good to me!)

Who was praying?  Seriously, who was praying about my upcoming move because if you've got that kind of connection with God, I've got some bills I'd appreciate being lifted to the Lord...  I'm offering you a hearty thanks right now for the time you spent on my dismal future move because...

The move is off!  There will be no Batcave in my immediate future!  Woo hoo!  Hello my precious window!  I feel good looking out and seeing an uninspiring view.  BECAUSE IT IS A VIEW!!

Oh God is good in so many ways, I can't even count them...

My boss called us into his office to tell us that the move is off due to the building owners making faulty business moves.  Then he looked at me and said, "Shalee, now you can rest easy about the no windows thing."  (Let me just add here that although I did have a bit of a tizzy about the no window thing at first, I've accepted it and even moved on with it.  Don't get the idea that I was complaining daily about not having any access to sunshine, sky or the essence of anything that makes work seem bearable rather than a "Joe vs. the Volcano" sort of thing.  I'm just setting the record straight...)

Now we will be moving in November into another of our new offices in town.  I can't tell you at all what my work view will be like because 1) I've not been inside it and 2) I've not seen a plan for the new set up.  But I'm giving it to God.  Window or no window - it's all good.  Especially since there's a Panera right across the courtyard from the new office. 

Life is good.  Life is Very Good. 

Maybe I can return the BatGirl costume for a new work outfit.  That's so much more practical since I'm pretty sure I'd have been fired if I had shown up in a  body-squeezing latex suit and a mask...

IT Never Had It So Good

It's Kelli's fault really. Last Friday she sent me an email that ended thusly:

"Now- go drive IT mad. Do it for me. " 

So I did.

Kelli, this one's for you.

Problem: Brighten my Outlook, please

Problem Description - My Outlook is a bit dim. I'm sure it's because summer is behind me with cold months ahead and because I've gained back every ounce of flesh that I worked so hard to lose to wear a bathing suit, but really that is neither here nor there. My Outlook is hazy mainly because I need rights to send an email from Outlook for the following addresses: Iowa Email Users, Kansas Email Users, Missouri Email Users and Nebraska Email Users. If you could correct this situation I would be extremely grateful, not to mention capable of doing my work.

And if you could remedy the first two reasons for my dreary outlook, then I will think you worthy of high praise indeed, as well as a miracle worker. And then I know lots of women who would want to talk to you...

And if by chance they figure out some way to correct the first problems, I'll be sure to let you know...  

Ketchup At Shalee's Diner

Well, let's see. It's been a while since I've done a "What's going on with the Diner owner" deal. So let me just throw a few facts your way.

I'm willing to move to the Smoky Mountains this minute. I lost a few pounds over that week, and my pants fit better than they have in a while. That vacation was better in more ways than I can count!

Our basement still looks like this:

With the weekend trips to visit the kids and the long vacation planned, we just haven't had time to schedule bids, make decisions and just get 'er done! So can you guess what will be on high priority at our place? Makes you want to run here for a visit, doesn't it? Well, one good thing about it... I've had one less level of house to clean.

Oh, and we've decided to take our house off of the market for now. We'll most likely put it back on come spring, but with school about to start on the 15th and the girl entering middle school, I just don't feel comfortable moving at this time. We know God's got our back and he has some reason for our staying in this neighborhood. We're just keeping our eyes and ears open for what those reasons are. It really makes me feel like Abram... would I be willing to sacrifice something that I held very dear. Well, we put it on the altar, but God chose not to burn it at this time...

One huge blessing that Mr. Right received (on our anniversary, none the less) was that he has been promoted to Supervisor at work. He started that position yesterday and he says that already he feel like a manager. It's different but good. So thank you God for that sweet increase in pay. We'll take what we can get and be very grateful. The only downsize to this promotion is that his hours went from fantabulous to sucky. He holds the 10 AM to 7 PM shift now. We're going to be doing some creative managing to make sure that we all keep together as a family. If you've had to deal with this work situation before and you have some good advice, I'm more than willing to listen!

My work is moving offices and I was so excited about it... until I saw where I'm going to sit. In the front... with no windows in sight... as a receptionist. Now there's nothing wrong whatsover with being a receptionist, but that is not my job description. You have to understand that this situation is almost cruelty in my opinion. We're on the 12th floor with beautiful views, and I get to look at four walls. To be incredibly honest, it makes me want to cry buckets. I've seriously had to give myself some talks to just deal with it and we're not even moved yet! Pray for me. I'm really going to need it. I just hope that in a year I can still say so openly that I love my job.

But on the upside of things, the office comes with a membership to the workout club. Guess who gets it?! I'm going to start my workouts come this fall, and I can't wait. Maybe I can keep my pants fitting so nicely...

And I'd like to throw a huge thank you out to Big Mama for suggesting that I read Peace Like A River. I truly loved the book. It made me cry when it was over because, to be quiet honest, I didn't want it to end. I loved the characters so much; I wanted to wrap them all up to take them home. Needless to say, this book will be on my shelf sometime soon.

We're off to see the kidlets one more time before we bring them home next weekend. And this weekend is the COUNTY FAIR! (Momma, can we go to the fair? I can't wait to visit the petting zoo! Can I ride lots of rides? Can I please have a funnel cake? Oh and cotton candy?)

I'm thinking that Mr. Right's promotion came just in time...

I'm Baaaack! Well, Sort Of...

It seems that Blogger and Picasa didn't want to play nicely together and that left me high and dry in the middle. That's why you've not had the pleasure of my company of late. However, Mr. Right twinkled his fingers over the computer, pressed a few buttons and voila! I'm back in business. I just love that man.

To answer Anoymous' questions about the pictures: The camera is a 6 year old digital camera that was passed on to us by Mr. Right's parents. (Thank you in-awes!) And whoever was holding the camera at the time took the pictures... Wait, that didn't sound quite right. I mean to say that there wasn't just a single picture-taker. We split that duty, but I'd have to wager that Mr. Right took a few more than I did.

To answer Kelli and Barb: Yes, we had a blast, but I can't wait to put my arms around my kids. One thing that has helped tremendously is that fact that the girl calls often. And if she forgets a day, she apologizes for neglecting us... I think she's just rich! The boy on the other hand... he just doesn't want to be "disturbed". I'll disturb him when I see him this weekend...

Well, we did make it home safe and sound. As we were pulling up to our house on Sunday, Mr. Right commented that this vacation could not have been any more perfect than it was. God truly blessed our socks off with this one! AND... we brought BBQ home from Memphis; there it sits in our freezer until we need our next taste of southern goodness. I can't wait to go back home already.

Oh! And Mr. Right and I saw Hairspray. Loved it! I wouldn't mind taking the girl to see it, but really, let me be honest and say that she'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD. There are about four curse words in the entire movie and there are some sexual inuendos, but nothing is seen and I'm hoping most of them will just fly over her head. If not, we'll have another good gab session.

And I read Quaker Summer. I enjoyed it, although the pessimistic side of me says, "Yeah, right." A lot of the conversations between the mom and son seemed awfully contrive and unrealistic, but I love the idea behind the entire story: That God wants to use us for his glory, but often we have to let go of our love for this world to be truly useful for him. It was very much written as a vacation read though, so that was nice.

I'm desperately trying to climb my way out of the tasks at work. I'm fearing that there is no way I can catch up on everyone, so I'm going to ask a HUGE favor. Would you please leave me a comment so that I can hear a little something that is going on with you? That way, I won't feel so guilty that I can't read the 600+ entries in bloglines. (Good night, you would pick last week to have a posting marathon!) So help a girl out and tell me something that you want me to know about you and your life. Thanks so much!

I'm Baaack!... Sort of...

Well, believe it or not, I actually survived my trip to Wichita and back. The horrors of it all! I know you heard about the slop I had to eat and the way I was forced to spend my time (read another great book, Hearts and Bones, which I'll review later too), but I don't think I told you about the rigorous exercise regime that was on my itinerary as well.

On Wednesday night, I went to the workout room (which was pretty nice) and I ran my 20 minutes. It was wonderful to have the place to myself and to use my new birthday iPod from Mr. Right. The time seemed to fly by and I didn't really feel as if I were suffering too much. (I wasn't so lucky the next morning when my boss was using the workout room when I went to run. I don't know about you, but I hate working out next to someone who does it all the time and who normally only sees me dressed nicely... I ran anyway and did my sit ups, but I booked out of there soon afterwards.)

My evening after that consisted of showering (thank goodness!) and reading (see above). I actually slept better than I thought I would, so that was a nice surprise.

Thursday was chucked full of activities. Another run in the morning, a great breakfast and then I was off and running. I had two sessions to set and complete, a yummy lunch to scarf down and then in the evening, there was an area picnic for the local offices and their business contacts. That was a lot of fun! Good BBQ, excellent company and a live band that was phenomenal. I did dance the white girl's dance, which we all know by now was named after me. But it was fun and really great exercise! I left around 9:30 and was tucked in bed by 10, reading again (because you know there was nothing on tv despite the 30 something channels that were available to me...)

Oh, and I found out the next morning that there was actually a "bar fight" over a woman after I left. Now I told both those guys that I wasn't interested, but would they listen? Noooo. (And in case you don't know this yet, that was tongue in cheek. They weren't fighting over me, but rather over some other woman. And yes, they were both drunk and stupid and one of them was arrested for their moment of stupidity.)

Friday saw the last session in Wichita, and then I was on my way back home. Mr. Right brought me roses and gave me great kisses the moment he walked in the door. There's something about going away that makes me really look forward to coming home!

His work gave everyone a gift certificate to Dave and Busters, so we went out to eat and played games just like little kids. We didn't stay too late because, seriously, I was pooped out. How do I know this? Well, when we got home at 9 PM, I crawled into bed to wait for Mr. Right and the next thing I knew, it was 8:30 in the morning! Oh Glorious Sleep! How I love thee!

We bummed the entire weekend. Saturday - we watched 2 - TWO - movies and just spent good time together. On Sunday, I took Mr. Right out for breakfast at Panera's, we went to church, ate with our friends and talked with the kids. And Mr. Right was allowed his uninterrupted marathon nap! (I read - no surprise there, huh?) We went over to some friends house in the evening and did some great catching up with them and then we headed home. I finally downloaded from iTunes with the gift certificates that my boss gave me for my birthday. (It's amazing... I still have $50 left!)

And now, I'm back at work, gearing up for the next meetings at the end of this week. And I'm really looking forward to it.

But my real questions are these: Did you miss me when I was gone and what song would you suggest that I get for my iPod?

(And just so you know, I'll attempt to get caught up with everyone soon!)

Oh yeah... They're SO Missing Us.

Just look at these bums!

And that's just the first two days... Sigh. I really, really wish I was my kid.

However, I am on a business trip in Wichita for three days and so far, I've been forced to eat pacific salmon, hummus, filet mignon and I had an entire morning to read. (I read Like Water For Chocolate. I'll do a review soon - along with a few others I've read since the last time.) And tonight, I must go sit in a hot tub. It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it. Pray that I can endure all the stress...

Customer Service

I know I've been very absent from the blogging world, but believe me, it's not by my choice. It's an absolute crunch time for me in the office. I'm scheduling multiple events for a presentation that every employee in our region must attend. If you've never tried to convince every employee that they need to attend an mandatory event without calling it mandatory, then you haven't been through business hell.

So I'm saying that it's "requisite" instead. So much more tantalizing, don't you think?

I attended the first session yesterday and wowie! Actually it was quite a brilliant presentation that I think anyone is breathing should take. It's so good it should be taught in school! It's about taking our customer service to an entirely different arena and making it a culture instead of a program. And who is the client? Everyone! From the CEO to the janitor, everyone deserves to be treated fairly, well and with a good amount of decency. I'm all on board, so I know all the hassle on my part will be well worth it once everyone understands the new direction of the company.

Anyway, since I'm the meeting coordinator I was out the door running from zero dark thirty to the end of a very long day. (Of course, I may have been a bit tired from the gathering for dinner and the dancing that occured afterwards. Good night that was fun. I may become a manager just to be able to eat so well and then to work it off afterwards! And since I paid the bill, all I can say is that I could have paid one of my mortgage bills with the amount that was spent! Good grief!)

Anyway, I talked to Mr. Right on the way home and admitted that it was his turn to cook because I was spent. So being the good man that he is, he ordered up a mean pizza and we watched The Incredibles while we chowed. Perfect.

At the end of the night, Mr. Right suggested a walk and although I was tired, I accepted. On our way through the neighborhood, our neighbors beckoned us over to talk. They told us about going out of town to their first bar mitzvah, how reading of the Torah was amazing, how the way they touched their prayer book to the Torah and then kissing it was bringing tears to everyone's eyes, about how the entire event was memorable and reverent. Then the husband started talking about how they're introducing their kids to many religions, how he only goes to two religious services a year: one to take his mother to Yom Kappur and the other to celbrate Easter, then he goes on to say that he doesn't believe in worshipping any man because he knows God would frown upon it, but that he does believe that there is a God.

Can I just fully admit to you that at that moment I just nodded my head and looked for the first moment to leave? I just wanted to take my walk and then relax. Was that too much to ask for?

As I was walking down the sidewalk, I said to Mr. Right, "I have a feeling that I was supposed to do something for God back there, but for the life of me, I didn't know what to say. I just wanted to get away fast. I think I should be saying a big sorry for failing God on that one."

He told me that he was thinking the same thing the entire time... and the next time I'm trying to make an escape, I don't have to keep poking him over and over again in the side because he totally got it the first time.

It looks like I've got a bit more to learn about customer service than I thought because if I were God, I'd totally fire me for not knowing my product, ignoring the client and not giving my best when called to do so. At least I don't have to push 93 buttons and wind up talking to an incoherent phone attendant in India to submit my apology to God. God will never outsource...

Shalee's Word Affair With IT

Ahhh, yes. We come to the next chapter of "Shalee's Word Affair With IT."

When last we saw, Shalee was battling against the evil installs which wouldn't accept some of her applications. She held her ground and sang out to the IT wizards for help. They came to her call quickly and painlessly.

Now it's been a while since our heroine has been perplexed with her computer... However, the computer has been devious in its workings. It's found a new way to mount obstacles before Shalee as she is stretched to her limits at work. Never fear, Shalee, although running around like a chicken with her head cut off, faces the challenges head on, vowing to never submit to the will of her evil nemesis. Let's look at her problem solving techniques.

Problem: It's like molasses in December...

Problem Description: Our Outlook is running so slowly. Opening an email, switching from mail to calendar or trying to switch from one email to another is extremely time consuming, not to mention unhealthy. In the time it takes me to attach files to an outgoing email, I can eat through a bag of Oreos or Cheezits. I've timed it using these highly scientific methods. And of course, they say to test hypotheses at least three times, so I'm going to run another test using my box of Wheat Thins; it's not as big of a box as my Cheezits, but they're a lot grainier, so I think that will make up for the difference in ounces.
In order to save me from ballooning to the size of a baby walrus, would you please run diagnostics on your end to see to what we can account the slowness and thereby repair the sluggishness of the system? Because I'm down to only a package of Archway Molasses cookies after the Wheat Thins, and they're really soft so I think I could eat them in 2 minutes flat - not really a fair time tester in my opinion. And I don't have time to go to the store, unless of course, I'm trying to work in Outlook. Then I've got all the time in the world.

Will she succeed in her task? How soon will the IT department come to her call? Will she finally shown her ultimate authority at the end of this irksome battle? Tune in later to see if Shalee has foiled the intentions of her computer... and if she she'll be able to fit into her pants by the end of it all.

(Seriously, if you could say a prayer for me and my dealing with work, I'd be very grateful for your interceeding. I am swamped and I haven't looked at my Bloglines in quite a few days. Please don't think that I'm not ponderings the ins and outs of your lives. I'm just completely over my head at the moment. That being said, I really miss talking with you all. Give me a shoutout so that I know that y'all are doing well. And hopefully, I'll be back in the swing of things soon.)

Sweet 16th

I know I said I'm swamped... and I am. I love having too much to do and wondering how on earth I'm going to get it all done. It kind of helps me to actually do it than to wait until the last possible moment to just throw everything together. I know, I know... I'm weird. (Thanks for the reminder, Kelli.) But after 36 years, I've come to accept certain things about me. You may as well too.

However, being swamped doesn't mean that I don't find times to play. And sometimes playing pays off in the long run.

For example, yesterday my boss came into work sick again (Really go back and read that one... it's stinkin' funny, if I do say so myself.) with the a good cold. After preaching the gospel of Airborne to him, he enclosed himself into his office. Ten minutes later he yells out, "I think I'll have you go get Airborne for me," as if he came up with this brilliant on his own... Men! So the payout for me was to get out into that beautiful sunshine while picking up Airborne (and Claritin, yet another think I've been trying to convince him to try since he thinks he has allergies, and Delsym - hey, I'm nothing if not persuasive) for him. Getting paid to shop with someone else's money is a definite bonus, even if it was just for cold medicines.

Or later that day when I noticed that my boss wouldn't have time to break for lunch, I offered to run and get him something - soup, his favorite salad, a sandwich from his favorite place, whatever he felt like eating with a cold. He said, "I really want a tuna sandwich. Go grab us some lunch." So I had the pleasure of more sunshine and a Subway BLO (Bacon, Lettuce Onion - with mayo, vinegar, salt and pepper) on the house. Mmmm, mmmm!

Or when I was back at the office eating my sandwich, working on meetings planning and listening to country music (yes, Jeana, I listen to I'd Like To Check You For Ticks with a happy heart), and the DJ announced that the 16th caller would win tickets to Alan Jackson and Brooks and Dunn. I thought, well why not?

So I called. And called. And called. And called. And called. And... hey it's ringing!

And I won.

(Thank you God for this sweet surprise.)

I'm thinking I should goof off a little more in the future. It's really improved my attitude, and I have high hopes it will improve my dating life with Mr. Right.

Now, if only I could win some cowboy boots for this concert... Anyone know of a contest for size 6 boots?

Out of Office

I think it will be a while before I can even get out of the office as I'm swamped. Oh the joys of being really busy. (Not complaining as I really do love it. It makes me feel slightly needed here.)

However, these are the "Out of Office" e-mail messages that I would want to leave if I were given the opportunity to run away again. But really, I value my job too much...

1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.


2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.


3. Sorry to have missed you, but I am at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.


4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received. (My favorite!)


5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.


6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over.)


7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks. (Second favorite)


8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
   
   
9. I've run away to join a different circus.


10. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Sean' instead of Shalee.

Oh, and if you don't see as much of me in your comment sections, please don't think I'm ignoring you. I'll be keeping up with my reading in my ever-vanishing breaks at work, but not talking back as much - only if time will allow. I'm not worried though. This too shall pass, and I'll be back to my old commenting, blogging self soon.

Happy Monday y'all. Make it count.