Technology; 31 Things

Back in the day my Grandfather (Dewie) bought his first computer - in his 70's. By the time he passed away he had 3 computers. Born into a family like that it's no wonder I love technology; all technology. 

Our first computer was a TRS 80 from Radio Shack and it ran on a cassette tape. I was back in the day of DOS, binary code and C:\>. Nope that's not an emoticon it's the DOS prompt. My real first computer experience was on the boxy Mac's with the children in the after school program where I taught. I've picked up bits and pieces here and there along the way and I'm the go to girl for computer repairs for my family, friends and their parents.

I have a cell phone, ipod, two laptops and Kindle Fire. I use Facebook, email, Pinterest and have a blog. My Mom, friends and I text. I take on-line classes. My friends and I craft while talking on Skype. I'm a Google girl and love that I can keep my To Do list and calendar on any computer and sync it with my cell phone. Right now I'm typing in Evernote on my laptop. My favorite software is Pinterest, Evernote, iGoogle, and Dropbox. The one piece of equipment I couldn't live without is my ipod. I love it. I listen on the way to work, while I'm at work and when I'm crafting.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without technology. I can read books while I'm at doctors appointments. I can text my friends and family. Send and receive emails for work and home. I can sit in the middle of campground and stay connected to everyone. I can shop and tour the Louvre all without leaving my house. I can keep in touch with my friends and even craft with them though we are hours apart. I can even design scrapbook pages thanks to digital papers and embellishments. And take classes with Ali Edwards, even though we are more apart. Can't imagine my life without technology.  

Shoes - 31 Things

I love shoes. All kiinds of shoes. If money and space weren't an object I'd have a closet full, maybe a wall full. I dream of owning a pair of red soled Louboutin's. I love to search for shoes on Pinterest and I've been know to notice a person's shoes before anything else. I love to go to Macy's and look through their shoe department. I also love to go into a shoe store and have the scent of leather greet me. Yep, I'm a shoealohic.  

Now you'd think given my love of shoes that I'd have tons of them in all styles and colors. We'll you'd be wrong. I prefer practical and comfortable shoes; always have. Give me a pair of clogs or boots any day. I have a special obsession with boots. Don't get me started on boots. Comfortable shoes for me are my Birkenstocks - just bought a new pair yesterday and my Dansko's. I have three pair of Dansko's; burgandy, black Mary Jane's and a blue suede clog. By the way I love Mary Jane's too. I have an obsession with them too and own three pair at the moment. My go to shoe this winter was a pair of black Merrill clogs that I found on sale. I like Keen and Clarks for comfort. I bought a new pair of sandals for summer that are gold gladiator style. I love them, my friends just look at me and shake their heads. Doesn't matter to me, I enjoy wearing them. My slippers are wool clogs and they are the first thing I put on in the morning and the last to come off at the end of the day. I have a pair of blue Crocs that I wear when I'm gardening or heading to the beach. I also where my Teva sandals to the beach. Right now I'm on the search for a shoe to wear while I'm in Maine; something that is a cross between a sneaker and a water shoe. And costs less than the $85.00 pair I fell in love with.

I'll let you in on a little secret. When I buy a pair of shoes, I put them on right away and keep them on for hours and days. For me they are pieces of art and I'm so excited to own and wear them. Sometimes I put them on my dresser so I can just sit and look at them. The gold sandals sat there for a weeks before I finally put them in my closet. So there you have it, I'm enamored with shoes. 

I had almost forgotten that when I was a kid there were very few shoes I could wear because I had narrow feet, high arches and my feet would turn inward without the right shoe. I could wear lace up shoes and loafers, no Mary Jane's, ballet slippers, flip flops or clogs for me. Every pair of shoes had to be taken to the shoe shop where a high arch would be added. Even today there are styles I can't wear because my feet are too narrow and tend to swim rather than be supported. That is why I rarely wear flip flops or strappy sandals and don't even own a pair of heels. But the shoes I do have I cherish and I'm always on the lookout for more.  

Shoes in my closet: Two pair of Birkenstocks - one badly in need of repair, 3 pairs of Dansko, two pair of Keen's, 2 pairs of black dress shoes - one with a wedge heel and one without, slippers, Sorel boots for bad winters, Clark boots for milder winters and a pair of knock off Ugg's that are super cozy, four pairs of sandals, a pair of black and silver wedge sandals that are only worn when walking isn't required, two pairs of sneakers (one pair is at work), Teva sandals, Crocs with a butterfly button and my go-to shoe; black Merrill clogs.

9:15am Thursday: 31 Things

It's Thursday, I'm 53 and the sun in shining. I've got my blinds open; a rare thing in an office with a floor to ceiling window that's 10 feet wide.

I am talking to Tracey about our child care program. I've just finished writing down her words of wisdom "you are running as fast as you can into the same brick wall, day after day after day". She is right of course and I needed to hear her words. She offers a suggestion of relying on my own intuition. I have the leaders skills and the personality and I know what to do. I need to listen to my inner knowing. All great words; all needed today. 

I am wearing a pale green shirt with olive oil bottles on it. There is a bit of bling - a few rhinestones. I love bling. This wasn't the shirt I wanted to wear today but I didn't feel like walking down two flights of stairs to bring up the shirts drying in the basement. I wanted easy and comfortable. This shirt is soft and I paired it with jeans and my blue Dansko clogs. It turned chilly overnight so sandals wasn't an option for today.

I am tired, my back aches and my allergies are in full swing; too much gardening. I was thinking how much I needed to hear Tracey's words this morning because I have been wondering what direction to take with the center; how to get the teachers on board with the changes and how to be effective.

It was a quiet conversation; just Tracey and I in the room. She was sitting across from me in a brown chair with a quilt my Mom made thrown over the back. A bit of home and comfort during the stress. Tracey as always is dressed to the 't. I admire her style and wish I could be more stylish. I always end up choosing comfort instead of looking well dressed. The kids are quiet while we talk which is unusual. My office is next door to the toddler room so I am used to yelling, crying and all the other sounds noisy two year olds make. The alarm on my cell phone interrupted our conversation. I knew I'd never remember to notice 9:15am without an alarm. I found it amusing when the alarm went off reminding me there was more to life than just work. 

It's Thursday, May 31 at 9:15am and I am sitting in my office at YELC-Girard. My office is filled with stuff; teacher purses, a few white boards for notes to staff and myself, a work table, a desk, a copier, 5 phones waiting to be hooked up, a laminating machine, a child size couch that is in need of repair, more forms than I care to write about. My desk faces the door so I can see everyone when they come in or leave. My computer screen has a picture of Maisy taped to the bottom. A stuffed hippo sits under the screen watching my keyboard. There is a Kleenix box, a stack of raffle tickets to sell, my day planner open to my to do list, white out, a yellow mini legal pad, car keys, receipt book, mouse (pink), cell phone, cough drops, dirty fork, business cards, an outlet covers, speakers and turquoise blue pail with pens and a lamp sitting on my desk. 

That's 9:15am for you.

Purchase - 31 Things

Trying to get caught up on 31 Things tonight. Four prompts down, 3 more to go catch up. Enough for tonight though. 

Money was rarely, if ever, talked about in my home growing up. Which makes it amusing to live with someone whose family talks about money at every opportunity. I tend to follow what I learned as a child; money is a private matter. With that said I've had plenty of lean times and a few abundant times. Definitely prefer the abundant times; living paycheck to paycheck is tough. It's stressful and it's hard on my self esteem. 

Being unemployed was definitely an eye opening experience. I waited three weeks before finding out my former boss didn't challenge my UC claim. Those were scary weeks. How was I going to take care of my bills without unemployment? I was grateful when I got my approval letter. I also decided to cash in my retirement fund and use that to pay off my debts and pay my car insurance in full for year. I wasn't sure what the next months would bring so I wanted to be as debt free as possible. I managed to keep part of the money and it's invested. I don't know if cashing in my retirement fund was a good or bad idea. I know it brought me a measure of security and financial freedom I'd never had before. In July of 2011 I lost my unemployment and had to pay back $1200 to the government. It was an expensive lesson about misunderstanding and miscommunication. I had no money coming in and was grateful to have that retirement money to lean on. My roommate helped out too - in fact if it wasn't for her generosity I don't know where I would be. But that is a story for another day.

These days I'm earning enough to pay my car loan, insurance, buy groceries, books, craft supplies and get a massage once a month. When I was unemployed I missed not having money for extras; a bottle of fingernail polish, a magazine, a cup of designer coffee or a massage. Now I don't take those things for granted and honestly I don't find myself spending money on extras. I learned what I needed and what I wanted were different things. I've also learned that stuff is just stuff and I really don't want stuff just for stuff sakes. I've learned less is more. 

My earning situation is different now and not something I ever imagined. As a part-owner of a child care center that is in its infancy, there isn't a lot of money to go around. My paycheck fluctuates from week to week, so I am very careful with my spending. I did purchase a new bed recently and was happy to know I passed the credit test and have 1 year no financing. I'll have the bed paid off in less than 6 months; which I'm proud of too. I am looking forward to the day when I can fully support myself. For me that looks like having a house of my own, a car I can afford, being able to pay my bills with money left over to put into retirement, savings and for those extras in life. 

On a Typical Evening: 31 Things

On a typical evening I get home from work around 5pm. I put my work bag on the table, say hi to Maisy and we head out the door. Once she's done and back inside I head upstairs and change my clothes. Off go the work clothes and on go the comfy yoga pants and t-shirt. 

On a typical evening when Annie will be home, I start dinner. I'm finding that cooking is a great transition from the stress of the workday. I try to make sure we have a main course, veggies and fruit. I love to toast pitas and add different toppings, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and have them waiting as an appetizer. 

On a typical evening when Annie isn't home, I curl up in my favorite chair and catch up on blogs and Pinterest. I make something simple for dinner -eggs and toast is a favorite around 6 or so. 

On a typical evening when Annie will be home I play on the computer, maybe making a digital layout or surfing the Internet while watching dvr television shows. There is usually a pretty good list of shows to choose from. Annie likes her detective and police shows. I prefer The Daily Show and Oprah specials. We both like Modern Family, Suburgatory, Mike and Molly and I've gotten her hooked on the Big Bang Theory. 

On a typical evening when Annie isn't home the television stays silent. I read, listen to music on my ipod or a podcast; The Digi Show is my favorite. I play on the computer or work on a project, like Project Life. Most nights I make my way upstairs to the craft room until heading back down to let the Maisy out at 9:30 and get a snack. Snack is usually yogurt or cheese.

On a typical evening I head to bed around 10:30. I promise myself it will be earlier but I never seem to make it. Most of friends are parents or night owls and get on Facebook around 10. We start chatting and before you know it, it's 11 and I'm still up. I head to bed, making sure to give the cats their treats and Maisy her dog buscuits before climbing under the covers and putting on my sleep apnea mask. Maisy curls up on my left and Sadee May on the right and there we all head off into dreamland. 

Chores: 31 Things

I had to laugh when I read today's prompt from 31 Things; chores! What a hot button topic in our household. But before I get to that here are some random thoughts on chores:

Random Thought 1: I'm not a big fan of chores especially laundry, oh and vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen or the bathroom. I don't mind dusting!

Random Thought 2: When I lived alone I had a small space and had routines. One load of laundry during the week; one load on the weekend. All dishes in the dishwasher which got run once a week and emptied the next morning before I left for work. Every few weeks I vacuumed, grocery shopped every Friday and once a month I did a "big cleaning". 

Random Thought 3: I would rather create than clean. Translation: sometimes I just ignore the housework and head to my craft room.

Random Thought 4: I loved when I paid someone to clean my house. She came every two weeks and when I arrived home from work on a Friday I was in heaven.

Random Thought 5: If I could afford a personal chef I'd have one. I had the next best thing when I lived in Warren. A women who cooked healthy foods Monday - Friday. She made lunch, dinner and a snack and I picked it up every day on my lunch break. Simple, tasty, economical and easy. What I wouldn't give to have that now.

Random Thought 6: During my unemployment I tried to embrace my inner housekeeper. I cooked, cleaned, did laundry - way too much laundry, organized and decorated. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time and definitely kept me busy. I gladly traded in my dust cloth when we opened the daycare in February.

Random Thought 7: My roommate, Annie, wears the most shirts of any person I've ever known.

Random Thought 8: Her shirts must be put in the dryer for no more than 5 minutes before being hung up to dry. When I moved in she was using the basement clothesline as her closet. Yeah I changed that pretty quickly.

Random Thought 9: Neither one of us is motivated when it comes to cleaning; both preferring to do other things. Just call us frat boys.

Random Thought 10: A few months ago I went back to work and thought I could keep doing all the chores. Turns out Superwoman was wrong.

Random Thought 11: Asking for help and getting it are two very different things.

Random Thought 12: Introduce a chore chart which fails miserably. Introduce my sister-in-laws chore chart; if it is inside the house I'll do it, if it is outside the house you do it. Fails miserably too. Finally agree that we will trade off on laundry every other week and do a big cleaning once a month or when company comes.

Random Thought 13: It is amazing how quickly we can clean when someone calls and says they are on their way for visit.

The Reality: Now that I'm back to work trying to keep up with the chores is tough. Gone are the days of routine; now it's mostly catch up on weekends. What does work is keeping the house picked up. I try to do this every evening before I go to bed. I also like the dishes to be done before going to bed. I can't stand dirty dishes in a sink of cold water in the morning. I do most of the cooking; Annie prefers to let someone else cook. She cleans the bathroom and does most of the vacuuming. She also does the lawns and snow blowing - two chores not in my vocabulary. Grocery shopping is done together; usually once a week. Laundry we each do every other week. She still wears too many shirts for my taste and I still organize too much for hers. So far we are finding a way to make chores work though I'll be happy when I find a housekeeper.

My View: 31 Things

Okay I'm a bit behind on 31 Things but hope to be all caught up by the weekend. This was today's prompt:

Inside View: My favorite spot to sit inside is an arm chair with an ottoman. From it I can see the light coming through the windows of the dining room windows. There is little natural light in this house which is why I affectionately call it the "bat cave". The chair faces a fire place which I love during the fall and winter. My favorite view is of the picture wall next to the stairs. It's our photo wall. I see my brother and his family. My nephew with a blue tongue because I'd just fed him blue M&M's. There is a group photo of my family at Thanksgiving time and one of my friends and I sitting around Santa. There is a collage I made of my Mom, Grandma, Dad and Dewie holding me when I was a few days old. I love those photos and those people. Many times I just sit and stare at the wall thinking of how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. On days when I am down I look at the wall and know I'm not alone. Those photos are the perfect inside view.

Outside View: One of the challenges of moving to the city from living in a rural area was losing touch with Mother Nature. I lived next to a river, with a view of the mountains behind. Everyday I could see the changes and as the years went by I learned to tell a lot about my surroundings by watching nature. Now I live in the concrete jungle; no rivers to watch, no mountain views. We do have a small yard which I'm slowly transforming with gardens and flowers. My favorite view is a corner which has ferns, moss and other woodsy type plants. It reminds me of Buckaloons, a park where Maisy and I spent many hours walking. Nowadays she and I are both content to curl up on lounge chair and watch the ferns blow in the breeze. The only thing missing is our beloved pine trees. 

Community View: There is a spot when I am driving home from work where I come up over a small hill and there it is; the lake spreading out in all directions. It never ceases to amaze me and brings a feeling of peace. Lake Erie is my trade off for leaving the country side. I love those moments when I am driving and look up and see the lake; especially the view as I'm coming back home after visiting friends and family in other towns. It's like a big old welcome home; welcome back we've missed you!