Ohhh, the things that we worry about

For me, it is the pile of dirt (mulch) in front of my house. It seems that now that I am working again and actually earning a living wage, I thought I would have the bright idea to spend that money. So...... I am re-doing the planter in front of my house which has been bothering me for sometime now. There is this big overgrown bush that I have never liked right in the center. That is going. Yeeeaaahhh! and the ugly marguerites which look so pretty when they are in the delicate 4 inch pots but which become big tangled bushes with little appeal. The hedge is staying because it hides the automatic sprinkler system and is a nice guide to my front door. The rose is staying because I love roses. The sage and geranium are also staying with their lovely dark purple and bright orange flowers. The rest is all going.

Which brings me back to the dirt/mulch. The planter is very low on dirt and has been for some time. It hasn't been fertilized in 10 years although it has been mulched so, needless to say, before further planting, some dirt needs to be put back in. The best place for clean dirt (is that an oxymoron?) is Wheeler Farms, a truly mom and pop operation that, supposedly has magic soil. Their minimum load to deliver is 3 yards which is about the size of a Mini or a small Volkswagen. They only deliver on Tues, Wed or Thurs. My gardener/digger/planter/dirt mover can only come on Monday so that left me with a dilemma. I explained to them that I couldn't have this load of dirt in the middle of my driveway because then I couldn't get my car in and out of the garage. They said, "no problem, you live in Mountain View. we can dump in the street there without you getting a ticket" so I said okay. I asked when since I wanted to be home to see this and maybe still guide them to dump on one side of the driveway. They gave me a 4 hour window which of course I couldn't make since I am now a working gal so they gave me a 2 hour window and then finally said how about 12 - 1. So, on Thursday, I dutifully came home from 12 -1 and no truck. I went back to work. Who knows when they came? I got home at 9:15 and there was a big pile of dirt in the street, extending all the way to the middle of the street! I thought that was too much of a hazard. I could not block the street for 4 days. So, I got my shovel and started shoveling the mulch towards the curb until it got too dark to see. By that time, it was about as wide as 1 big SUV or 1 1/2 regular sized cars. I thought it would be okay.

Nonetheless, I got up early this morning to try and move some of it on to the driveway. I went outside to see that someone had run over the pile, no easy feat since it is a bout 4 feet high. The dirt was spread down the street. I got my broom and swept it back towards the big pile. Then I got my shovel and a bucket that could hold 3 shovelsful and started moving dirt to my driveway. After about an hour, bucketful by bucketful, I was about 1/4 of the way through the pile and had gotten it back to the curb enough that it was only as wide as a small car. I felt like I was doing one of the stunts on Survivor.

After my day laborer job, I still had to shower and go to my regular job. Just a little sore and managed not to stiffen up over the day.

Then, I began to worry that someone would see the dirt and think that it was free and I would come home and my $200 pile would be gone. You can imagine my relief when I got home and everything was just where I left it. Guess I will go out and put in another hour of labor tomorrow to move more to the driveway. If I did that every day, I am sure I would be much thinner.

And speaking of weight, after going back to work and gaining (big look of horror) 25 lbs. despite watching what I eat and walking daily at lunch time (the change in activity level and schedule was just too much for my system), I am finally back on track and have lost 5 pounds. Lets just hope that keeps up for the next 20 pounds and I can get back to normal. Dirt pile, here I come!

So what else has been happening? I finished my project this week (today) and am taking Monday off to take care of the house, get the new plants in and take care of the million other things (health care, insurance, house maintenance, etc) that you have to be home on a weekday from 9 - 5 to take care of since that is when the other people are working. I soooo need a wife (or househusband would do).

Then, on Tuesday, I start a new job at a fund management group in San Mateo for two weeks and then off to a major retailor we all know in San Bruno for about 3 months. Somewhere in there I plan to take off a week and go to Aspen for a little vacation. After next week, I will have my 500 hours in and start accruing vacation and get my holidays paid which means that I now get to take the 4th of July off and get paid for it! Yeahhhhhhh! Oh, and the overtime is paying for all of the extra work around the house and hopefully soon, a new refrigerator and carpeting. Maybe not so soon - 6 months or more. There is still a lot of work to be done on the yard.

The rest of my week was rather challenging. I had a meeting for the startup I have been involved with for about 4 years on Monday and it went about as bad as it could go. I emailed the CEO about the lack of courtesy certain members have for the rest of the team and her response was that "we can't be nice to each other or nothing gets done". That was about it for me. I had actually written my resignation letter the day before and was ready to turn it in but felt compelled to complete my project reconciling the books and stock for them and then turn in my resignation letter with a clean slate. That should happen the second week of July. The letter is written and waiting. I had been thinking to resign anyway since my life is way too full and I really need more time for my personal life and family. After evaluating my many activities, I decided to give up my position on the Board of the USC Bay Area Alumni and to resign my position at the startup. After finally making those decisions, I breathed a big sigh of relief.

What else happened this week? Tuesday was actually fairly good. I went to my painting class and finished my portrait of the sealions. It came out very well. Lots of emotion and very cute.

I have been trying to get my gate replaced but having trouble having the companies come out to give me an estimate. One guy was very rude to me and didn't want to do the job because I have dogs (even with me home). He said that he would come out on Tuesday but never showed. The other guy was very nice and said he would try to get out Thursday but he also never showed and I was really hoping to get the new gate on Monday while I was at home so that I could have the dogs in the house while it was being done. This means that I will have to be home and off another day from work when I finally do find someone to give me an estimate and get the work scheduled.

I ordered new contact lenses and, of course, they are also only open during regular working hours requiring me to take time off to pick them up. I tried online but they were just as expensive and you have to pay shipping. I was also not relishing the thought of my delicate Contacts sitting on my porch in the sun until I got home. I ordered from my Optometrists office (who wrote my prescription) and left work early yesterday to pick them up only to get there and find that they were the wrong Contacts. The receptionist blamed me (?!?) when she had my prescription sitting right there and I had told her I wanted the ones from my prescription (aargh!).

Then, today, I ran int the curb and scraped my magnesium rim on my car wheel - a big, long, crushing scrape........(aaargh).

Needless to say, I am glad the week is through and it is the weekend. Time for some good energy.

I have been paddling (get your minds out of the gutter please) with the dragon boat team every weekend which has been loads of fun. Mark your calendars because Aug 18-19, we are paddling in the American Cancer Society Paddle for Life Event in Foster City. If you would like to support our team and the American Cancer Society, you can make a check out to the American Cancer Society and give it to me. I will turn it in at the event. And, it should be a fun event, so, if you have time, bring the family or friends and come out to watch us paddle.

Tomorrow, I have my 30 year (count them) High School Reunion. I was hoping to have lost all of the 25 lbs by this time but guess I will have to settle for 5. Better than gaining 5 more.

Needless to say, I have not made any headway on my letting go project and my study is still quite full of papers needing shredding or filing. The desk is getting piled up with new "papers" needing going through and this despite the piles of junk mail, etc. that never make it to the study and go right to the recycling bin. I am so wanting to continue this project but have had no time.

Well, if you are still reading by this time, Congratulations! I am sure this was a real snooze but, heh, I am back, at least for now and here is my blog.......

Happy, Sunny Day!