WanderingGrrl

highly amusing

me@belen.net — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:28:43 GMT

not that i don't have anything of substance to share, but mostly i am sick and don't have the energy to actually craft any words for you.

so in the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from the Thursday Morning Quarterback columnist that my boy loves to read:

The Prize for the North American Cycle Courier Championships Was Lost in the Mails: The latest North American Cycle Courier Championship was held in Boston. That's right -- a competitive race for bicycle messengers. Tuesday Morning Quarterback suggests these other sporting events based on everyday modern life:

Western Hemisphere Speed Barista Challenge: Objective is to get through the line at a high-end coffee shop and obtain a half-skim double-caramel rapafrapazapachino before your double-parked car is ticketed. Use of elbows technically illegal, but skilled competitors get away with cutting the line.

North American Multitasking Finals: Contestants must drive an SUV, talk on a cell phone, use a PDA and watch a movie on a portable DVD player simultaneously, without striking spectators.

East Coast Recycling Evasion Championships: Contestants must get rid of glass bottles and plastic containers without using recycle bins; severe penalties for being caught.

Suburban Soccer Mom Rally: Entrants must take children to sports events on opposite sides of a county at the same time, while picking up dry cleaning, buying school supplies, shouting into a cell phone and evading randomly located traffic jams.

Regional DMV Marathon: Contestants must get through the line in a Department of Motor Vehicles office. This day-long event characterized by foul language, pushing and shoving. Warning: Clerks may ignore you even if you're standing right there!

secret fail

me@belen.net — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:50:17 GMT

never again will i opt for the travel size of a deodorant that is not the brand i know and love.

secret has failed me :|

thank god

me@belen.net — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:34:18 GMT

christmas shopping is done.

whew.

this was imperative, since i will be home for 4 days between now and when we leave for denver!

Spring Sojourn: Fo(u)r Play!

me@belen.net — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:40:17 GMT

It is my pleasure to announce our 4th annual walkabout dates! :D

you'll notice in our decadence, we are leaving a bit earlier this year, yet again increasing our time in austin...someday thad & stacie will say they have hit their threshold with us, but until then, i suppose we'll just keep testing it.

Map with all details is here.

Details below:
Jan 21 - Redding, CA - pass out

Jan 22 - Jan 24 - Healdsburg, CA - 3 happy days of wine tasting

Jan 25 - Bay Area, CA - visit liz & mike (is this good for you? :)

Jan 26 - Feb 3 - Saint George, UT - time with d's parents

Feb 4 - Tucson, AZ - pass out

Feb 5 - Ozona, TX - pass out

Feb 6 - Mar 25, Apr 5 - Apr 22 - Austin, TX - Settle in for a nice, long visit, interrupted by a field trip to nola

Mar 26 - Houston - visit b's parents

Mar 27 - Apr 4 - New Orleans, LA - More food, more wine, more merrymaking.

Apr 23 - Hays, KS - pass out

Apr 24 - Apr 27 - Denver, CO - Visit Paul & Sarah

Apr 28 - Tremonton, UT - pass out

Apr 29 - One of the wine valleys in WA/OR - pass out, wine taste, drive home (note the order!)

Apr 30 - HOME!

perfection

me@belen.net — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:07:03 GMT

hot honeycrisp apple cider

mulled with spices

spiked with rum

sipped in the hot tub

on a chilly day with perfect blue skies

at 4pm

on a tuesday

thanksgiving, indeed :)

me@belen.net — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:25:49 GMT

man-oh-man did i need this holiday :)

after a 21-hour 2-day week, i turned off my work laptop on tuesday night, and sunk into the bliss of 5 whole days off in a row.

wednesday was filled with general life and house puttering. i made pizza sauce, i prepped a few things for thanksgiving in seattle. i played a little with my new droid (yes, apparently even i can find lust in my heart for smartphones, though i doubt i will ever feel the all-consuming passion that many do :) then we went to dave & rebecca's around 3:30 and gamed and made pizza and hung out until 10ish.

thursday, we succeeded in catching an 11am ferry and settled into an afternoon of cooking, snuggling and general food and friend goodness. it was lowkey and delicious on all fronts. i'm soooooo happy that this has become our thanksgiving tradition :)

friday was sleeping in way late, lounging about and eventually going out the the Merc. it was great to drink and dance and generally be a social, chatty creature. i was definitely feeling deficient in this department.

we headed home on saturday, watched movies, snuggled kittens and today has been cleaning, soil sifting, christmas planning, wall-scraping, and other domestic bliss.

so all in all, i feel immensely grateful for time with friends and time for myself. i could still use another 5 days, but that would just be greedy, huh? :)

zephyr just blew my mind

me@belen.net — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:31:38 GMT

my adorable old man has always been particularly cute when he "pretend sprays" things in the house. obviously, it's cute because he is pretend claiming things :)

i was just sitting in the hot tub and witnessed with my own eyes, him ACTUALLY spraying something.

my head exploded.

in his entire life, i have never seen it happen for real, and now i have to wonder when he figured it out and if he understands inside vs. outside.

i have fear in my heart.

november? really?

me@belen.net — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:35:15 GMT

it's hard to believe we are careening toward thanksgiving already.

things continue to be busy but good. for the last couple of weeks, the boy has worked less and slipped back to his earlier state of houseboy, which (of course) makes me giddy. i wouldn't cry if this was the trend for the future.

the good:

we just ordered this for the greatroom. 360 degree swivel will mean this baby can play nicely with both the living room and the kitchen side. i'm very excited :)

i thought my gerber daisy discover card was very me, but now my capital one card has a photo of jack and ponce as kittens asleep together. it's a good thing i am no longer a compulsive spender, or these adorable credit cards would be problematic!

we are slowly making headway on prepping the garden for winter and next spring. today we got 3 bins of chicken poop from dave & rebecca so we can get fertilizer in to enrich the soil all winter.

next weekend is early friends-thanksgiving with dave & rebecca's closest friends and then we have thanksgiving proper in seattle with our beloveds there. i am starting to feel like the karma angels are purposefully creating loving, friend-filled thanksgiving events to help wash away my original distaste for the holiday :)

the bad:

apparently we missed one of the cats presents to us, and downstairs has the distinct smell of death in the air. we have torn apart the zen room and bedroom and found no culprit. the search continues.

credit card update

me@belen.net — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:32:43 GMT

man, that felt good.

i finally got a new personal and business card lined out, and then called citibank today to cancel my two cards.

they, of course, passed me over to the Account Specialist (aka - the hard sell to keep the card). he pointed out to me that i pay my balance in full, and i am a 8 year member in good standing - does it really matter to me what the interest rate is when it doesn't effect me?

and i had the pleasure of saying to him that i understood that the rate did not impact me because of how i choose to manage my finances, but that their practice of forcing such high interest rates on their existing customers - EVEN THE GREAT ONES - was a business practice I could not support and that I no longer wanted to do business with them.

he asked if there was anything they could do to keep my business, and i told him if i saw citibank make substantial changes to their interest rate and other customer-facing policies to be fair to their customers, i would consider coming back, but not until then.

eat that, fuckers. (not that i really matter, but still :)

you know you are a northwest gardener when....

me@belen.net — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:11:03 GMT

it's 50 degrees with intermittent drizzle on a sunday morning, and you think to yourself, "i can move those plants and get the garden prepped so it can hit the ground running in the spring!"

i swear that this weekend, i earned my first points toward being a true northwesterner. in previous years, the southern girl in me recoiled at the idea of mucking about when the weather was already so far gone into "winter". this year, i put on silk thermal underwear, heavy cargo pants, 3 layers of torso covering (thermal, fleece and rain coat), a hat, rain boots and garden gloves and worked in the garden for 5 hours.

i am stoked :)

also, i was thoroughly charmed by being in the garden out front and hearing the boy jeering or cheering the dallas cowboys as they played. even after all of these years, it blows my mind a little!

when you know the answer will come...

me@belen.net — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:24:43 GMT

you know that feeling? when you know that you will have that brilliant idea/breakthrough but it hasn't arrived yet? this is how i just phrased it in IM with a coworker:

the edge of my brain is tingling with the answer

i rather like that :)

the principle

me@belen.net — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:17:57 GMT

i think i have to fire my citibank credit cards.

even though i pay my balance in full every month, and this will never in theory affect me, i received a letter today informing me that their new interest rate will be 29.99% going forward.

that is the most obnoxious thing i have ever heard, and i don't think i can do business with a company who would do that.

a nice example of my team

me@belen.net — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:44:48 GMT

i sent that pic to my team so they could see the revised belen.

my art director's reply included the following question:

You didn't lose any of your goddess/jedi/nerd/goth powers did you?!!!!

the best part about that question is that each of those is the highest of compliments in isolation, much less strung together :)

and on a similar note, this amuses the hell out of me.

chop

me@belen.net — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:14:29 GMT

time for dead ends to go. don't worry, it will grow back ;)

collaboration

me@belen.net — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:58:06 GMT

i feel like a million bucks.

we just had a 4 hour offsite workshop with my team.

i created an outline, and we treated each topic as something to brainstorm together, rather than me lecturing on it. i asked questions and the team collaboratively explored the answers and spinoff questions.

i wrote those topics on a flip chart - one on each page, and everyone had markers that they wrote down their contributions on each topic. those are our meeting notes.

i am so blown away by the session, how much came out of it, how their collective knowledge plays out and spins off each other. its humbling to see how smart, creative, and open these guys can be when asked to contribute, show initiative, and be part of the solution.

today, i feel like a rockstar who manages rockstars :) better yet, rockstars who are becoming self-aware of what they are great at and what their challenges are - and they are excited about solving those challenges.

man. how awesome is that?

i am eating THE BEST...

me@belen.net — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:27:04 GMT

room service breakfast. Everything is cooked to perfection and it is a lovely start to the morning.

it's an odd thing...being on a business trip with spending allowance.

i mean, i'm a simple girl. and i don't eat much in the way of quantity. so it's really bizarre to me to have $50 a day for meals, especially when many lunches and dinners are social situations where people won't let me pay. and then i have leftovers and i might as well eat those for breakfast.

so this morning, i am trying to just enjoy the decadence of a $20 breakfast brought to my room so i can sit around in my robe and chirp to you :)

my mad macgyver skills

me@belen.net — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:44:35 GMT

setup:
my friend stacie here in philly invited me for dinner monday night, and her husband sent me home with 2 varieties of his home brewed beers. (sidenote - he also is a graphic artist and makes all his own labels....these bottles are so coming home with me and being added to the bottle collection!)

challenge:
last night, i had a butter knife to pry a bottle open. tonight, i had no such tools. none. but the beer was calling, begging, pleading....

solution:
there is a retractable clothes line in the bathroom. i managed to use the metal clasp that you hook the clothes line into to pry open the beer with minimal spillage.

i feel like a rock star! :D

curse you, new schedule!

me@belen.net — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:53:03 GMT

after a flurry of 3 weeks of schneider guests, i find myself at the start of the first free, quiet, at-home weekend we have had in a month. and next week, i fly out to philly again!

please note the time. both the cats and my body have apparently grown accustomed to my OBNOXIOUS new early morning hours, and thus, it is 7:45 on a saturday, and i simply cannot sleep any longer due to jack's insistence and my tossing and turning.

*sighs*

but you know, my complaints are few.

while david's folks were here, his dad moved all the plumbing for the utility room, saving us many hundreds of dollars. He moved the hot water heater, the washer, the electrical needed, installed a utility sink, put in a 4'x4' window that we took out of the great room, and built stairs that are solid and ready for whatever flooring we decide on. the utility room is now almost complete (we really only need cabinets), with bright natural light and his very professional touch. talk about amazing houseguests ;)

it was great to have so much time with his family, but back to back visits were tough. we are used to our quiet, and work is denting that enough.

speaking of work, this was another exceptionally long week for me, but only the 2nd one like this, with the rest falling in a civilized 45 hr/wk category. i love what i am doing - i am experiencing daily progress and changes that leave me feeling both proud and humbled.

i feel like my team really considers me one of them and are excited about our future together. my art director and i have found our rhythm, and i think it is a partnership that will conquer worlds someday :) the chaos is still exhausting, but i am learning to pace myself and we are chipping away at it. my boss is happy, and, despite the radical shift in hours (my day starts at 7am with meetings), i am happier and more excited and confident every day that this was an awesome choice.

but i do miss being a slacker :) it was a great 8 months!

this weekend should be a nice puttering around the house and garden. speaking of...here's some of the stuff we've been up to this summer! (if you want to get geeky, look at the whole album in thumbs and you can see the progress pics since we bought the house_

Extended slate path:

Garden under the stairs:

Utility room landing:

Path to hot tub:

New edging at farm:

holy cow, what a whirlwind!

me@belen.net — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:22:55 GMT

yay for a brief update! :)

my trip to PA the week before last was an experience packed to the brim. the best parts: meeting my beloved coworkers in person and strengthening the bond we already had, realizing that this company is filled with a lot of brilliant, talented people who will benefit from the new direction my boss is bringing, and having the opportunity to try on this new, high-responsibility role. the challenges were long days, lots of juggling, and the sheer overwhelm of the task at hand. but all in all, people were so welcoming, encouraging and understanding that i left PA aglow with what a good choice i had made.

coming home to my boy and kitties was a good reminder of how amazing my quiet little life is, and how i will work to protect and keep that balance in my life. the boy is taking such good care of me, and i am grateful that he is willing to get through this tough initial period with me by being my partner in every way possible.

last week was my first real one in the saddle, and by sheer force of will and a lot of hard work, my team managed to keep the train on the tracks, despite a challenging production schedule and many points at which we were assaulted by unexpected hurdles. by the end of the week, every member of my team had thanked me for making a big difference in how the week played out, and that as a result, they were having evenings with their families rather than working all night. that made me feel like a million bucks and my debrief with my boss at the end of the week was really good. i didn't get to any of the organization/process things i wanted to start, but i still have to count the week as a victory :)

on the home front, we finished putting in edging at the farm, and my veggie garden actually looks like defined daisy beds/paths now!!! i'll take pictures soon, but i am beside myself with glee. we are getting fresh cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, edamame, snow peas, tomatoes and strawberries out of the garden almost daily and they are all so tasty.

next weekend we are headed to yakima to camp and wine-taste for fri-mon. and then we begin the Great Schneider Gathering of 2009, which involves david's brother and his girlfriend sarah being in for a while, then paul overlapping with the first part of david's folks visit, with a house full of schneiders from 9/3 - 9/22. i'm looking forward to it, but juggling my time will definitely be challenging.

important data from...

me@belen.net — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:48:08 GMT

when filling out a background check form that wants the last 3 places of residence, what source does belen use for referencing that information?

amazon.com's list of my mailing addresses

i am highly amused :)

ah, memories of a former version of me...

me@belen.net — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:26:21 GMT

a decade ago (and no beautiful gypsy boy), the pizza boy who just showed up at my door would have ended up on his back for my amusement.

ah, i amused myself as he clearly made his play as the one who spoke to me on the phone and told me he really liked my name and he was so cute and alternaboy and young and had no clue what do next.

and i processed this while thinking....JESUS CHRIST I AM HUNGRY!

still, its pretty charming to still be the chick the delivery boy wants to hook up with ;)

stupid brain

me@belen.net — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:25:42 GMT

note the time and sigh for me. apparently my brain really wants to keep working on the enormity of the task at hand, which is more annoying than the task at hand. i realize this is a Process and no one thinks i get my head around it overnight. thank god :)

so what does belen do at 3am when she can't sleep?

1) take melatonin

2) while waiting for that to take effect, research options for a tag-based and snippet-based way of capturing and organizing info, since everything i am getting and processing is in piecemeal, and most of it i will document eventually.

you know...us OCD people....we need lists and fragments of future things to flesh out and passing thoughts that will need to be inquired into....

and in the blackness of insomnia night, i discovered Scrivener.

holy mother of god, this made both the writing geek AND the organization geek in my almost faint. its only for mac and its a perfect example of why i love the snotty little creative community of mac users ;)

i have the trial downloaded and the intro video made my toes curl.

i foresee many hours of capturing thoughts and eventually molding them into documentation that will make my life infinitely easier.

and on that note, perhaps i'll try sandwiching myself between a sleeping boy and 2 sleeping kitties and actually sleep!

yay for warm fuzzies

me@belen.net — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:08:56 GMT

it makes me feel all warm and happy to think that 3 out of the 5 evenings i will have philly will be filled with cozy dinners with various coworkers (and their families) that i have known for more than 2 years but never met.

i suppose it's a little rare and odd to have forged these kinds of long-distance bonds with coworkers, and that makes me feel doubly blessed!

this moment

me@belen.net — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:30:29 GMT

every now and then, you can look at a moment in your life, point at it as it is happening, and say:

"this moment - right here - marks the beginning of a whole new era in my life."

today is officially one of those days.

after nine and a half years as a self-employed freelance designer, i have just taken a job as the Creative Director for a Philadelphia-based performance and learning design company.

my favorite client recently merged with this company, and it seems that my skillset is a really good match for the needs they have in leading their graphics team in a new direction. i'll still be working from home, though for the next few months, regular visits to the east coast will be a necessity.

i am still reeling no small bit with the enormity of the situation - leaving behind the independence and flux-and-flow of being a contractor, remembering what things like *benefits* and *technical support* and *PAID VACATION* mean, and wrapping my brain around the huge shift to doing more managing than designing (at least initially).

mostly, i am giddy to the point of vibrating at the infinite possibilities that lie ahead of me....what new things i will be learning....how much i will grow and explore in this new endeavor.

and on sunday, i get on a plane for PA. for the first time ever, i will meet face-to-face with coworkers from my old company that i already love dearly, and i will begin to forge new relationships with a whole new crop of people who are destined to be swept away by my charm ;)

for the love of jon

me@belen.net — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:08:55 GMT

thanks to mistressmaya on facebook for this fabulous story - it made us smile.

Why Neoconservative Pundits Love Jon Stewart