Saturday, February 21, 2009

Quarter 5 In The Bag

I was a little unsure that I was going to be able to pull everything off since my last post. The last week and a half have truly been a struggle for me with waaayyy too much going on and then a sick hubbie and son. But, belaboring the negatives does no good, so suffice it to say, I am one more quarter closer to getting my post hole digger (aka, PhD)! There are lots of jokes about what about PhD means, one my faves is pretty huge debt - now that is the truth!

In the midst of completing my final two huge projects for my courses, both of which had stacked 30% of the grade on the final project...no pressure there or anything, I had to get the house in tip top shape because my empolyer was sending over a video crew yesterday afternoon to get some footage of me, interview me, and generally just seeing me interact with my family for the Jefferson Award because I am about to pass the torch to the new National winner at an upcoming luncheon. While so nice, seriously, in the midst of it all it just added to the stress of the timing; however, our house looks fantastic and I don't have to now spend my relaxing week cleaning it! I do however, have lots of plans for my week of down time. I am going to get all my paperwork caught up for Tabitha and get everything transitioned and shipped off to the new President who will be taking on all of the administration for the organization. That will relieve a TON of pressure for me, but I have been too busy to even get that accomplished. I am going to get our taxes all together and off to the accountant and hopefully do the same for Tabitha. I will be exercising and cooking - hopefully putting some yummy soups in the freezer for quick and easy healthy meals.

On a completely separate note, my good friend Carrie delivered her triplets yesterday, and yes, you read that right, triplets. This will be a challenging road for them, but she has a wonderful support system, fabulous husband and parents and amazing friends, such as yours truly, who plan to help as much as possible. All the babies are doing well and that is a true blessing. Also, any day now, my internet friend, Heather, who has a little Jingdezhen blessing like our Shenzy, is expected to get good news about her daughter awaiting her in China, Calliandra.

And while in no way attempting or even planning any sort of adoption, as I do earnestly believe we are through, I have happened upon THE NAME that I would pick for any future child to enter our life - NOT THAT THIS IS EVEN PLANNED, IT IS NOT, but we would name the child...Lawson. I love this name, boy or girl, it would not matter - who knows what the fake internet name would be...but the child would be named Lawson, isn't that so cool?!

For now all is good and I am going to ENJOY my weekend!
CC

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

If You Want Something Done and a Rant

Have you heard the old saying, if you want something done, ask a busy person? It is true. Although I don't always grasp the concept and understand how and why it works, I know it does.

January was a relatively slow month for me here in CC world (aside from Geneva trip), one in which I wasted a ton of time, getting done what absolutely had to get done, but not advancing on any things that SHOULD get done. The only rationale is that I was not busy enough, pathetic, but true.

So, February is shaping up to kick me in the rear, with a pointed toe boot. My work work has picked up in a somewhat dramatic fashion, I am in the final 2 weeks of my 5th quarter in school - so all the final projects are due very soon and I need to get seriously focused on my research so I am not in school for 10 years, the kids activities continue to grow, I need to transition all the Tabitha stuff to our new President, and I am trying to focus on exercising MORE and eating better and less. AND, the real rub is that I need to do all of the above and try to be nice to everyone around me:).

HOWEVER, I shall get all of the above done, hopefully while retaining a somewhat pleasant personality, because I need to be uber busy to be productive, I guess that is just my style. But when I make my to do list every day, the list is not getting shorter...

On a complete aside, I am almost speechless by the situation of the octuplets. I watched the interview with Ann Curry (who I adore) last night and then there was more flap about it on the news this morning - added info - to add to the absurdity. The bottom line for me, if you have the capability to care for these children, then the more power to you; however, she does not. I might feel a bit differently if she were adopting these children out of foster care and had a deliberate plan in place - but even then, they would not LET her adopt those children even out of foster care because you have to show FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY for taking care of them. We have adopted, we know the invasive, irritating, and yet responsible checks that are done to an adoptive family. Why are they not required in a situation like this??

The ethical decisions made by her medical treatment team are questionable at best, and her decision to agree (and likely encourage) all of the embryos to be implanted demonstrates her lack of rationale thinking and basic common sense. And come on, those lips and her appearance are striking resemblances to Angelina Jolie...yet she denies any work...hmmm. Newsflash: AJ has millions and millions of dollars at her disposal to care for her children.

OK, off my soapbox for now, as mentioned above, way too much to do, not enough time.

I am thankful for my business, it means my kids are healthy and active, my job is thriving, my brain is being educated, my husband likes me company...most of the time, and my friends are the best:).

CC

Monday, February 02, 2009

Back to Basics

With the new year, also comes the refocus on my eating habits. While I have still maintained the emphasis on trying to eat as much organic food as possible, I am still slipping in other areas, such as too many carbs and just too much in general and not enough green stuff. So, today, February 2, marks my renewed committment to a healthier lifestyle. I read some literature from Dr. Joel Fuhrman over the weekend that makes sense, both from a common perspective and from a scientific one. So, I shall make my goal to follow his words of advice as closely as possible. I really want to finally shed my adoption gain - hey, pregnancy is NOT the only way to gain weight, I can attest! I will move my body more and will pay close attention to what I put in my mouth.

On this same thread of thought, my dear husband found a Wii Fit and bought it for me. I had really wanted one. Cursed thing told me I was 54 fitness-wise! So, it will be an added tool for me to move my body more. I did 30 minutes worth of activities on it Saturday, alas nothing yesterday with church twice, my mom visiting, and homework due by midnight. However, I am motivated beyond, so here goes!

CC