It's Friday (just barely)

Thanks Jackie. I was wondering about Gina. Hey Callie, sorry to hear your progress is going so slow. Me, I'm doing much, much better. Dam it though that still isn't all better. Getting tired of the schedule of meds and not being able to do my normal running around. Just got done with a nebulizor treatment. Things could be worse......such as if I couldn't use steroids!!!! I'd be in very rough shape then. I do have trouble with various anti biotics though and have stopped the one they sent me home with. I'm able to get things done, just taking it slowly, so that's good anyway. Trying not to do too much that will get the dust and dog and cat hair floating around too much. Happy dirt digging this weekend Glenda. Karen have a superb time at the beach with Bugsy and friends. Cant remember much else as I just scanned. Oh earthquake 5 with aftershocks of 4 something in North Central Ontario. Friend about 4 miles down the road said her house shook for about 3 minutes. Several felt it here in Central NY.

Maureen and Callie - I'm thinking good thoughts for both of you to feel better.

Have fun at the beach Karen!

Tracy - I love that quote from the Office. I feel the same way so often these days. *sniff* I couldn't record or watch the show because we had 2 other shows recording, so I'm going to watch it online.

DH and BIL went to inspect the house yesterday and came back with lots of concerns. I was pretty bummed and thinking maybe we should pull the plug. I couldn't get DH to really lean one way or the other, so it was really confusing. We decided we needed to see the house again today without the owner there (he's been there both times), so we'll do that this afternoon. We'll need to look at things very critically and decide if the needed repairs are worth it in the long run. So, for now, I just feel stressed but less excited than I had been :(.

I'm glad to hear that Janet-Rose and Gina are okay.  I was thinking about some of the Texas iDoggers when I saw the news coverage, and not being on Facebook, I don't get the updates.  DH's mother grew up in Kansas and experienced some major tornadoes.  Her description of them sounds so scary. 

Julie, I just read to DH your post about Abbie's joy at running along with the bike.  We struggle to give Ruby the high level of exercise she needs and wants.  She zooms circles in our tiny yard, but we don't have any larger areas where it's safe to let her off leash to run the way she'd like to (off-leash parks aren't ideal for an overly exuberant, rough play-style pitbull to run with strange dogs).  DH said maybe he should try the running along the bike with her (Yay!  He could ride his bike finally!).  What type of equipment on Abbie and on your bike do you use?  Feel free to PM me.

Callie and Maureen --- still sending healing vibes your way.  I hope you're feeling closer to 100% each day.

Cathy, I can't believe that house needs any repairs -- it looks perfect in the photos!  But I know the "big" things aren't always visible.  Maybe you could re-negotiate the price to allow for the cost of the repairs? 

Deb, that drink looks and sounds delicious!  We don't have good beach experiences here --- the air and the water are way too cold to enjoy it like I did on the east coast.  So, I'm envious of your beach trip, Karen!

Got some laundry in, got a couple calls t make, then heading out to the yard.

 Maureen, keep getting better.

I'm skipping allergy shots this week because I'm still coughing. I'm almost at maintenance, but I guess now I'm set back a week or something. Oh well. I would have done the cough-puke last night on my way home from work if I had eaten recently enough to have anything to puke up. 

I just got offered a client through my one company that will require me to give up on through the other company. I'm debating about it. The client I have to give up, I love the kid, but there is no growth there for me. I've worked with the kid for a few years though. It would be hard to replace me there, but that's not really much of my issue as long as I give adequate notice. For the interim while I have both, I'll just go crazy. I'm not sure how much higher the pay would be for the new thing, could be anywhere from $2-15 an hour. The number of hours per week I would have for the new client would be the same as the number of hours I am giving up if I do. The company where I will have to give up the client, I could do with giving up something in order to push them into giving me the stuff that I am actually qualified to do. The only thing about the new client that I don't really want, but can deal with, is that it is every other Saturday. I don't really want more Saturday work, but I can do every other Saturday. I just can't do every Saturday. So, go crazy for about a month while I have the two things, or keep the status quo?

That's a tough one, Jen.  I guess I'd say if the time of crazy stress is relatively short -- just a month or so -- I'd try juggling both.  It might help make the decision easier about giving up the other client (or you may decide you don't like the new one).  And, for the short term, you'd earn some extra money, right?  Dealing with a really hectic schedule is tolerable if you know there's a limit to the timeframe. 

Just ran down and got Subway sandwiches for lunch.  DH has ripped out an area of grass near our driveway and worked up an appetite.  The grass was on a slope, making it tough to water and tough to mow.  We're going to put 3 or 4 big rocks (boulders, really) there and have more flowerbeds.  It'll look nice, but I admit that having even more flowerbed area to weed and keep tidy is kind of a drag.  I'd love to add more hostas (they're my favorites!), but it's in an area that is too sunny, so we'll look for some low-maintenance perennials to plant there. 

tacran

I'd love to add more hostas (they're my favorites!), but it's in an area that is too sunny, so we'll look for some low-maintenance perennials to plant there

 

I didn't think there was such a thing as too sunny where you live. lol 

Cathy, I hope there's nothing too serious going on with the house.  It's not new so some wear and tear is to be expected but as long as it doesn't have a lot of deferred maintenance problems you should be ok.  As someone else said, you might be able to do some negotiating if there's anything major such as a roof or foundation problem.  I'm not speaking of you Cathy, but it amazes me when people who buy a twenty year old house or older, are surprised when everything isn't exactly like a brand new home.  We get called out occasionally to inspect a/c systems for sellers and buyers. Many times the buyers are shocked that a twenty year old home has a twenty year old a/c system that still works but is obviously long past it's expected life span.  We're often asked how long we think it will last. 

tacran

That's a tough one, Jen.  I guess I'd say if the time of crazy stress is relatively short -- just a month or so -- I'd try juggling both.  It might help make the decision easier about giving up the other client (or you may decide you don't like the new one).  And, for the short term, you'd earn some extra money, right?  Dealing with a really hectic schedule is tolerable if you know there's a limit to the timeframe. 

 

It's more like if I agree now to take the new thing, I am going to send the message that I need to be replaced on the other case. Maybe I would wait until I meet the new client to send it, but that's it. I think I am supposed to give 30 days notice, and I will do that because I still have other clients there, and I don't want to burn bridges. I just want to pressure them a bit on giving me some of the higher paying stuff I am qualified for, and that the other company is giving me. In fact, they are giving me stuff to the extent that I will probably have to start turning stuff down. 

JackieG

tacran

I'd love to add more hostas (they're my favorites!), but it's in an area that is too sunny, so we'll look for some low-maintenance perennials to plant there

I didn't think there was such a thing as too sunny where you live.

 I know, right?!  Actually, we have one extreme or the other.  It's grey and rainy for 9-10 months, but for the few weeks of warm, dry, sunny weather, some plants can't survive in the really sunny parts of the yard if they're shade-preferring plants (like hostas).  We've learned this the hard way over the years!

About older homes --- in some cases, a house that's 20 or 30 years old can seem "new" (especially in parts of the country where there are entire towns and neighborhoods of homes built 50-100+ years ago.  Out here, where most of the growth and development happened in the past 25-30 years, and there are brand new subdivsions everywhere you look, a 20 year old house would seem "old."  When we first moved here, people were always telling me to visit these two local museums (restored homes from the early 1900's with gorgeous gardens).  They'd rave about how beautiful they were, blah blah blah.  When I finally saw them, I was like, "What's all the hoopla?  These are just Victorian style homes.  We have entire neighborhoods of these in Connecticut.  People pay admission to go inside these two?" 

Jen, I think people don't always appreciate you until they're faced with the possibility of losing you.  It happens is personal relationships, but definitely in employment relationships as well.  The chance of losing you might just motivate them to give you the higher level work.  It's a bummer it has to come down to these kinds of ultimatums with a boss/employer, but often that's what it takes to get them to show their appreciation of your value and skill set.  I've seen it happen first-hand more than once. 

Callie, fingers and toes crossed that you can ditch the wheelchair soon!

Cathy, bummer about the house.  The things that you see easily are usually cosmetic and an easier fix.  It's the ones that you don't spot right away, like plumbing, wiring, the roof, etc. that can wind up causing you grief. At CA housing prices, it's seems wrong to have to buy a house and do a darn thing to it.

We had fireworks last night and I decided to skip it and stay home to watch Max. He kind of freaked out the last couple of times we had thunder, but the fireworks (much louder) didn't faze him at all.  I guess there's something in the atmosphere that changes when thunder is coming ... sort of like earthquakes and tidal waves. I may wind up having to buy him a thunder shirt.

Joyce

JackieG

I'm not speaking of you Cathy, but it amazes me when people who buy a twenty year old house or older, are surprised when everything isn't exactly like a brand new home.

I know exactly what you mean and we definitely aren't those types. BIL was probably just trying to be cautious and give us enough information to make a good decision. We knew the pool needs to be replastered and equipment updated. The talk about the crappy job the guy did on all the raised decking had me worried though. However, having gone through the entire house slowly and critically, I still love it and we can worry about the decking down the road. It's not turn-key and as Joyce said, with the prices being asked, they they should be. However, I remind myself that even the house we're in that was built in '96, needs updating. The house we're buying doesn't seem much different except the backyard. It is gorgeous but it needs some brick & mortar type of work done. We're both exhausted so I hope others are having a more exciting Friday night than we are :)

tacran

Jen, I think people don't always appreciate you until they're faced with the possibility of losing you.  It happens is personal relationships, but definitely in employment relationships as well.  The chance of losing you might just motivate them to give you the higher level work.  It's a bummer it has to come down to these kinds of ultimatums with a boss/employer, but often that's what it takes to get them to show their appreciation of your value and skill set.  I've seen it happen first-hand more than once. 

 

Tracy, thanks. That's kinda what I was thinking, but I needed to hear it from someone else. They say the want to keep me happy, but they don't give me the work I am now able to do. It's been over a year. They gave me one thing once, and it didn't work out due to the client being a nut. The new one gives me a lot of work. I actually already had to turn down work because I am too busy, and the scheduling they wanted wasn't going to work. If I take the new one they just offered, I will probably have to turn stuff down, at least after school hours and weekends. I still have during school hours open, but I won't really get much of that over the summer.  I think I will go with saying yes to it, meeting the client, and if I think it's a go, I will tell the other company they need to find a replacement for me for the conflicting hours.

 

Callie finally, for the first time ever, caught a ball from the flyball box. I'm thrilled. It's been a year and a half, and she finally did it. 

Oh, and my neighbors sent their new dog back to the rescue. The reason- apparently she is leash reactive. I don't even think horribly so. Oh well. It was a young, about a year old, pittie. Nice athletic build on her too. The neighbors are gone way too much for that dog, and don't really exercise their other one much. They don't want a dog that requires any work besides taking it out to go to the bathroom. The little girl they sent back would make an awesome athlete. If we weren't at our dog limit, I swear I'd try to get her.