Nine reasons why it’s good to be Justin

1. Last week he was elected by his class to be a peer mediator.
2. His first football practice is tomorrow (his team is the Tigers).
3. He can play “Sweet Child Of Mine” by Guns ‘N Roses on the electric guitar
4. He was given the honor of being “Assistant School Bus Captain” by Driver Dan who incidentally must be the very best school bus driver in the entire world (yes, even better than Mr. B.) – this earned him a spot on the ever-popular video magazine “TigerTown News” which is viewed by schoolmates throughout town.
5. Even several weeks into school, he still really likes his teacher Mrs. Hafner, and subsequently is thoroughly enjoying the 5th grade.
6. He’s reading Holes and is almost done (Chapter 30)!
7. He has nearly perfected the intricate skill of flipping an egg to a perfect “over easy” without breaking the yolk or making any sort of disastrous mess.
8. He got to play a Wii at his friend Anthony’s house today.
9. He is probably the most likeable, loveable, joyful, cheerful and optimistic kid I have ever known. What a blessing!

Headaches, 6 reasons it’s a happy Friday, other news

Wow what a wierd day. I can’t possibly be productive at work right now because I am smack dab in the midst of a migraine – my 2nd in a month, although previous to that I hadn’t had one for over a year! They seem to be getting worse too, as along with the pain, irritability and sight impairments, this one is also accompanied by severe dizzyness/vertigo. Blech.

Other that that, the day has actually been pretty good! Here’s why:

1. My group was not called for jury duty today so I was able to forego the 90 minute drive each way!
2. I finished a massive invoice report (after 3 straight workdays of analyzing numbers and budget codes!)
3. I got a signed contract back from my SVP (30 days in the works!)
4. I got some excellent news on another meeting which will save me and my colleagues tons of work!
5. I am looking forward to dinner with friends this evening at some sort of Korean place where they cook your food at the table. You know I’m not an adventurous eater, but even if I just have a salad, it should be a fun time with the group.
6. It’s only about 2-1/2 hours til the weekend officially begins!

In other news from the past week – some good, some not:

1. Terry’s dad was in a wreck – drove into a ditch with their RV but his guardian angel was with him as he walked away with nothing more than a wrist injury. Terry’s mom was not in the camper at the time.
2. Justin was elected by his classmates to be a “peer mediator” which basically means he’ll get to settle disputes between kids. It’s a pretty cool program which will teach him some valuable life skills – Terry and I are very proud. Of course, the highlight for Justin was “at the end of the year, we get to have a really big pool party!”
3. Eric’s football coaches have been smiling upon him, and he should get plenty of play time at next week’s game. (His back is much better too)
4. I went to a client appreciation event put on by the Scottdsale CVB. I was able to bottle my own wine, however it needs to sit for 3 months before it is at optimum drinking age. That means by my calculations, if anyone comes to visit over Thanksgiving they might just have the chance to enjoy it with me – that is, if I decide to share.

Tomorrow we have Justin’s parent meeting for football. He is really excited about this year. On Sunday, Terry’s going to the Dbacks game, Justin has a birthday party to go to, and I have a baby shower to attend. I’m sure this one will fly by like all the others, but hopefully I’ll get sufficient downtime. I’d better enjoy it now, before we get knee-deep into Convention planning stuff.

My migraine is starting to subside thank God, so I’d better get back to work.

List-mania for today

People I hate today:

• The a-hole driver in the double-load rock-moving truck who cut me off, then proceeded to shower stones onto my vehicle
• Catty women at work (this girl is too fat, that girl is too thin, the other girl is always at the office, the next girl is never around…. you get the picture)
• People who, on a speaker phone/conference call, talk and talk ad nauseum, not realizing that I might easily be able to provide the answer to their question or solve their problem if they’d just SHUT UP for five seconds.
• People who, on a speaker phone/conference call, ignore the common etiquette of putting their phone on “mute” when not speaking to avoid the overpowering background noise of a vehicle, barking dog or television. Usually these are the same people who commit the previously-listed annoyance.

People I love today (not in any particular order):

• My 9 year old who always greets me with a “Hi Mom”, a warm smile and a huge hug when I get home from work.
• My 15 year old who regularly and effortlessly entertains us at dinnertime with comedic episodes.
• My husband who commented on my culinary mastery, even though dinner was just a throw-together dish (but it was pretty good, I must admit)
• My chiropractor who eradicated 99% of the excruciating pain caused by today’s back to back migraine episode. (Likely caused by the conference call I had earlier in the day)

Today’s mysteries:

• How can the 5′7″, 127 lb. body of my teenage son exude such a large volume of gas?
• What makes John Travolta think he can really carry the role of a woman?

Results of today’s experiments with the dog:

• She attacks my 9 year old if he is beating on my husband
• She attacks me if I am beating on my husband
• She attacks me and bites my hair if my husband is beating on me
• The dog will no longer get any treats, leftovers or counter-droppings from me