Today's Heavenly Thought

Working from home....

Some people are good at it. They get so much more done at home than they do in the office. Sometimes I'm one of those people. I can concentrate more in my office, where I control the environment, the interruptions, the workflow, the information. All of those things are important, but then there are other times when I feel it's absolutely imperative to be in the office. It's easier to interface directly with others to resolve issues, gain knowledge, get information or instruction.

Today was a good day to work from home. I accomplished quite a bit and will probably work a little more over the weekend and definitely on Monday. I'm not much of a New Year's Eve person, would prefer to stay home with my honey and have our own little party, if you know what I mean!

Tonight, we're going to head out to look at Christmas lights. It's kind of rainy, but I think people will turn on their holiday lights in spite of it. We'll see. All we'll do is spend time and a little gas in the car. If the pictures will come out, I'll post them tomorrow.

Take care and have a great night!

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Regular Blogging

I'm saying it again, I hope that this time I stick to it. It's my New Years Resolution, a little early. I'm going to blog regularly again. Even if it's only a few lines every day. I will find a few minutes just to jot down my thoughts.

And of course, I'm going to lose weight - that's my two big resolutions. AGAIN!!

Hit the gym, walk alot, ride a bike and blog. Doesn't seem too bad.

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Getting Settled In

Hard to believe - I mean everytime I drive down the street, I am amazed that I am in familiar settings. We're back in Cincinnati - permanently. It's totally awesome. We had Christmas in town with our family and friends in our new house.

The house - well, what do they say about the "best laid plans"? It's so true. Everything was set for closing on 12/14. I was just waiting for the dollar amount to get it from the bank, tick tock, God I was a wreck waiting. Then at 3:30 in the afternoon the call came and it was a disappointing phone call. The bank reviewed the appraisal at the last minute, compared it to the surrounding houses that sold and decided the house was over-priced and pulled the financing. So, literally 2 hrs before the closing it was all over, cancelled, NO HOUSE!

OMG!!!!!

The movers had already picked up our belongings, my job had already started, my daughter already had roommates to take our place in the townhome we lived in, mail was already being delivered to the new place (by accident) and here we were - no house at the last minute - and we have to come, no choice. The wheels were in motion.

So, once we got over the shock of the house - we ventured off to come to Cincinnati. We started out on Sat, 12/15 and drove for 2 days, then stopped in Austin to take a day off, visit with some friends, and just relax. Get out of the car, let the dog run and play in the backyard. What a great day! We loved every minute of it, visiting. Then back on the road - drove to Cincinnati arriving here around 7pm on Wednesday 12/19.

Worked on Thursday, closed on the house that night and the furniture arrived in the morning! What a trip! Everything down to the wire.

I'll write more later and post some of our funny pics taken on the trip.

Cincinnati Bound

All I can say is YIPPEE!! We are less than 2 weeks from closing on our house and heading out on another wonderful adventure in life. I am totally amazed at how all of this has come together. I mean, one minute, I'm spending 10-15 hrs a week commuting then next thing I know, I'm flying to Cincinnati and working a new project at Ethicon and trying to stay on top of things at my current job. I had a very challenging week, making plans for the move, staying with my friend who has no internet connection at her house, which meant I had to stop in Panera Bread on my way to and from from work every day!

It's been a crazy week, but you know what? It's totally worth it. I know that it's all changing and soon I will be a Cincinnati Girl working a Cincinnati Job and seeing my Cincinnati family and friends. I'll be home for Christmas! OMG - last year, on this date, I had my foot surgery.......what a day that was!! I have never had sooooo much pain in my life. I will never forget it. When morphine doesn't touch the pain, you know it's more pain than you can stand.

But this is a new year. 2007, Christmas, in Cincinnati with my family. I just can't believe it. We are going to be in Cincinnati. We might not have furniture, we might only have what we are bringing with us, but hey, we will be in our new house and home for the holidays.

When we get to town we need a few things: sofa, lounge chair, coffee table, end table, coffee pot, desk and office chair, a 4 drawer file cabinet and a few other items. But the living room furniture is a must. We're leaving our living room furniture here for my daughter. Plus a bunch of stuff in the kitchen. So, we are leaving a legacy here and making a new one in Cincinnati.

So, if you're in Cincinnati and you know someone that is getting new furniture for Christmas, maybe we can be the recipient of the old stuff!!

Happy Holidays! I'll see you soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you had a wonderful time on Thanksgiving and had the 5 F's - FUN - FAMILY - FRIENDS - FOOTBALL - and of course, FOOD!!

Ours was wonderful and the meal seemed to come together so easily. I was so pleased. We had turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, parsnips, cheesy rolls and pumpkin pie! YUM! Everything was homemade by us and delicious. We have leftovers and plan on having them for dinner.

I've spent most of my day packing up my treasures. Today seemed like it was the day to pack just treasures. I went around and packed all the fragile items. Snicker hung with me all day, sniffing and helping me. In fact, he's laying next to me right now. He's such an integral part of our lives. I'm so happy that he's here. He's going to LOVE our new place.

Here's our new house back in Cincinnati! It's so hard to believe, it happened SO FAST! And without a hitch. Geez. I just am amazed. New house, back home, back to my job. We truly have come full circle. I'm so glad he's called me and put things back together. Less cost, less traffic, more family and friends, huge yard, nice neighborhood, close to shopping and work, more time back to us - just saving commuting time alone will buy me 10 hrs a week or 520 hours a year! It's amazing.

I know that it's going to be winter there, I know that I'm leaving the best weather in the country behind. I have to be honest, I will miss it. I will miss the beach 7 miles from my house, the mountains that I can see from everywhere I go. I like my job, so I'll miss all my co-workers. But the truth is - I don't go to the beach hardly at all, I do drive to the mountains because they are my favorite. So, I will have to just make time to go to Colorado, to the mountains and enjoy time off. The fact that I'll gain 500 hrs a year is so worthwhile. I'm not getting any younger.....I hate to give away my time and money.

Things cost so much more here. Eggs $3/dz; milk $4.50/gal; meat is expensive; fruits and vegetables are cheap. Gas is $3.40/gal. Food, clothes, furniture, etc. All cost more.

I'm coming home! We moving back by Christmas! Another adventure and to be honest - I hope it's the last one of this magnitude for a long time!!!!!! My future adventures should be known as vacations!!!

Announcements

What a week, I am realizing that the next month is going to be INSANE.

LET'S SEE:

1. we bought a house in Loveland, OH
2. we close on the house 12/14
3. packing
4. working
5. traveling
6. driving
7. cooking
8. holidays
9. Bengals

BUSY!!!

Carpe Diem!! "Seize the Day"

I'm about to make an announcement about a change that I'm making in my personal life that has a high impact on not only my immediate family, but friends, co-workers, companies and the like. This announcement is bubbling up in me to come out. BUT, I have one more hurdle to cross (hopefully today) in order to make the announcement. Timing IS everything!

I've given this serious thought for the last 7 months. Our family has discussed it and agreed with the plan. My best friend and I have talked about the feasibility, timing, steps to complete to get there. Originally we were talking next summer. However, it's like a speeding train, once it's in motion it's quite a task to stop it.

You know when things are working out when all pieces of the puzzle fit together so nicely that you couldn't have planned it that way. That's what it's like. Call it Karma, call it kismet, call it divine intervention, call it whatever you want. But do understand that even I, the project manager of my life, could not have pulled all of this together (again!) without help from above.

I can tell you this much: I love my life, I love the people and friends in my life and no matter what has happened they have been there for me through thick and thin, successes and failures, happy and sad times. We've kept a positive outlook and been able to influence our situation for the common good - the "win-win" - in our lives.

Last Christmas, we pulled together to help a family in Cincinnati that I knew was in need. We provided presents, rent money, food, Christmas tree and decorations, AND LOTS OF EVERYTHING, all while I was lying in bed recovering from foot surgery. I found my friends to be very generous, caring, giving and loving. And I was NOT surprised. They are great friends!! All Blessed and sharing the Blessings!

I am fortunate. I don't have any regrets, I cherish the memories, I try to live life to the fullest and seize the moment! Carpe Diem! I hope to be able to share my announcement by Monday night. I think many of you will be surprised, even shocked perhaps. Some of you will just nod and know that it's the best decision for me. And others will think I'm crazy! And you know what - you'll all be right! I am crazy, I am excited, I am happy and it IS the best thing for me and my 'soon-to-be' hubby.

More to come…………………...