A Great Monday in KC

The alarm came on too early yesterday morning....exactly two hours too early.  My work day was filled with meeting people, working with the HR team, and getting work done.  After work my friend Barb and I met up for dinner and travel to The Plaza, a higher end shopping area in Kansas City, Missouri.  There is a heat wave going on this week and it was plumb hot, hot, hot!

Barb cruised by many sights on our way to dinner - Missouri skyline, Sprint dome, museums, sculptures, and a variety of other landmarks.  We ended up at Jack Stack Barbecue for dinner, where I ordered the sampler plate, which included Kansas City ribs, sausage, chicken, and "burnt  ends" which were pretty darn good.  After dinner we walked a little around the Plaza, which included Valentino, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren, before she dropped me back off at the lodge around 9pm.

After washing my face and getting into my jammies, I called Michael so we could catch up on the day.  Alas, at one point I nodded off, waking up to hear Michael calling my name.  I'm sorry babe!!  We said our good nights and I promptly fell back to sleep!

Here's to another great day in Kansas City!

We're Not in Kelso Anymore

Ahhh, sitting here relaxing in my hotel room and reflecting on the weekend.

Thursday my Michael came over and, while I was at work on Friday, he spent the day with Sam putting up my new barbecue gazebo.  It turned out fantastic!   When I arrived home, we moved the old gazebo over to the opposite corner of the yard, which looks perfect.  After a lazy Saturday morning, Michael and I made our way to his family's annual picnic in Portland.  Weather was nice and it was fun seeing his family members that I had already met along with meeting new ones.  Plus eating some awesome food along with birthday cake to celebrate both Michael and his mother's birthdays in August.

This morning we awoke early so he could give me a ride to the airport for my work trip to Kansas City.  My Portland to Phoenix as well as Phoenix to Kansas City flights went smoothly.  Arriving in KC, my former co-worker Barb, who transferred this year back to KC, her hometown and original lodge, picked me up for a ride to the hotel.  Barb gave me the quicky tour then I checked in to my room.  The view from my balcony is fabulous and it almost makes me forget that the reason I'm here is to work, not play.  However, there is a very large shopping mall next door, which should suck up my free time in the evening.

Here's to having a wonderful work trip this week in Kansas!!

View from my room

 

 

If Only Toto Could Tag Along!

This Sunday I'll be visiting the land of Oz!!!  Yep, work is calling me to Kansas to spend a week at another lodge.  The good news is there are several of my former co-workers who have transferred to this resort so there will be recognizable faces at work.  It may not be over the rainbow, but it should be a memorable experience!!

Finding Zen at Home

Last Thursday I set up a Zen fountain in my backyard.  Then yesterday I set up solar lights in the back yard along with a glow-in-the-dark glass globe.  I also picked up two more timers for my front and now back yard fountains.  Things are looking good and it's so relaxing to spend time in the yard.  Unfortunately, I still hate watering plants!!!

TGIF!!!

From Broken to Beautiful!

During my recent front and backyard overhaul, the landscapers accidentally broke one of my statues - a large bust that looks like Zeus which I've had him for several years.  The landscaping gal said she took it home and would try to glue it.  That was three weeks ago.  The job has been completed, the company paid, but yet no Zeus.  Texting her numerous times, she repeatedly stated she only had to make one more "fix" before he was done.  My last few text were spent pleading with her to simply drop the broken statue off on my porch; unfortunately, she'd give me another excuse or there would be no response from her.  Finally, it was time to bring in the big guns...Michael.  He first called her (no answer) then texted, informing her that the statue needed to be returned no later than 5pm today or there would be consequences, which may possibly include a report of theft.  Within fifteen minutes, Mr. Zeus was quietly dropped off on my front porch!  Sadly, it was apparent no mending had been done and it was up to me to fix him!

Instead of spending time putting Zeus back together like a jigsaw puzzle with super glue, a more reasonable solution was found - a plant in his head!  Yep, soil and a green foliage was placed in his noggin to cover up his lack of brains and you know what?  He looks pretty good!!



 

Before

Zeus Broken

Zeus 2.0

Happy 50th Birthday Adventure for Michael!!

After spending five glorious days together, we've come to the conclusion that it was a wonderful birthday adventure!

Day One took us to the Evergreen Aeronautic and Space Museum, where we viewed all the old time planes, including the Spruce Goose.  After lunch and picking up a bottle of the Spruce Goose sparking grape juice, we made our way to Spirit Mountain.  The suite was fantastic and the gambling was fun.  Poor Michael didn't seem to have the touch but my luck was going strong.  After a buffet dinner, we gambled and stayed up late before crashing into bed at the end of our busy day.

Day Two was a visit to the Chateau Bianca winery and barbecue, which wasn't as large I as expected from their website.  After some wine tasting, a bottle of sweet red with hints of cinnamon and clove made its way home with me.  We ordered barbecue sandwiches then made our way to the back terrace to relax and eat our food.  Unfortunately, the barbecue did not live up to its name; in fact, the description "sauced wood chips" was said more than once to describe the smoky meat.

After lunch we drove to Salem and the capital building as our next tourist spot.  Michael has been to Salem many times but it was my first visit.  After a few pictures, we made our way back to Spirit Mountain for gambling and dinner.

Day Three arrived, which meant our next stop was Lincoln City and the Coho Lodge.  The suite was fantastic - ocean view, fireplace, Jacuzzi, and freshly ground coffee.  There was a Happy Birthday balloon bouquet, sparking cider on ice, and a rose on the bed, all to celebrate Michael's 50th.  We then made our way to Chinook Winds for lunch along with some more trying out of our luck.  I still had the touch while Michael was hit and miss. 

Day Four was Newport and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  Neither of us had been there; I had ordered tickets on line, which made me so happy and slipped right in, bypassing the lengthy ticket line.  Lots of fish, sea lions, otters, sharks, and an undersea deep passage with a variety of fish swimming around us.  Very memorable.  We ate lunch at the Aquarium Café; Michael ordered fish and chips, quite the ironic choice since we had just spent time extolling the virtues of saving fish in our great environment.  Driving back to Lincoln City, we stopped at Newport to browse the shops.

Day Five was Michael's choice so we stopped again at Spirit Mountain, where Michael finally had the lucky touch.  We stopped in Gresham for his birthday dinner then returned back to my place exhausted and ready to recover today.  There were some many activities and memories that my blog would be several pages long if they were all recapped here.

Happy 50th birthday Michael!!  It was a joy planning this adventure for you and an even better time spending time celebrating your birthday over the last several days!!!

One More Day and the Adventure Begins!!!

One more day and Michael's 50th Birthday Adventure begins!!  I've been planning his surprise birthday adventure for awhile and I'm so happy the day to start is almost here!!  Despite his guesses, I've held firm and not told him where we will be going.  But it will be memorable and I'm soooo looking forward to several days of rest and relaxation!!!!   Counting down to August 12 when we bid adieu to his 40's and welcome in a new decade of memories!!!

Before and After Never Looked So Good!!

The house is nearing completion!! Here's a Before and After pic.


Before (from a few years ago)
 

After

After stringing lights up on the gazebo in the back yard, yesterday I picked up some clearance-priced solar light stakes and shoved those into the ground around the front yard.  (Did you know there is an actual stake on the bottom of the solar lights to help you shove it into the ground?  Yeah, I figured that out after my third attempt to shove a flat stake into the ground!)





Ferns, Fountain, and Fingers!

As always this weekend was packed full of activities.  Friday night was time for my hair to be colored then trimmed.  I then stopped at Walmart and picked up some potted ferns for the front yard.  Saturday morning my first task was to place the ferns in the front yard then change décor in the back yard to more of my liking.  I also added some patio lights to the gazebo in the back.

Once done, Sam and I cruised to Vancouver Mall with the main goal of getting him a new pair of eyeglasses.  Vision Works had an appointment open so we reviewed all the glasses while we waited.  I ended up snagging a pair of bi-focals for the off days when my contacts are resting.  Sam ended up with a cool pair of graphite gray Nike glasses.  While waiting for our glasses to be done, we grabbed a bite to eat at Taco Time then wandered through a few shops, including Spencer's and Hot Topic.  We ended up leaving the mall, new glasses in hand, around 6pm and made our way for home.  Our last stop was the Woodland Walmart; wanting to pick up a few more ferns, I had to settle for some shrubs as there were no outside ferns in house.

 

New ferns and shrubs!

Sunday morning was dedicated to potting and setting out the new shrubs to the front of the house.  While at Walmart, I had scored a new clearance-priced hanging garden flag but could not locate it anywhere.  Bummer....must have left it at the store!  After getting the shrubs out, my next task was to run to Home Depot to pick up a replacement pump for my bird fountain along with some driveway cleaner and a new flag.  No options at Home Depot for a flag so ran over to Walmart, which offered only tiny flags.  Back at home, the driveway was sprayed with the cleaner and hosed, which made the weeds in the cracks stand out even more.  I then weeded and dug out the lines in the driveway and performed a second batch of cleaning.  Once done, it was time to wash the car!

Bird fountain back in business!

It was a lot of work but my reward, after my shower, was to get a manicure and pedicure.  Back at home, it was time to try out my new St. Tropez self-tanner.  No time anymore to lay out and tanning beds contain too many risks, so self-tanner was the best option.  The bronzing mousse came with an application glove, which helped application and prevented the dreaded "brown hand" aftereffect that normally comes with tanning lotions.  After applying to every nook and cranny, I waited to dry before getting into my jammies.  I'm happy to report my fake tan looks pretty good today...not orange, a nice light brown, and no streaks.  It appears I will be able to work today without tan embarrassment.

Yesterday I Grew A Pair

Yesterday, after much coaching and counseling from Michael, I grew a pair. 

Per my previous post, I was very angry and upset regarding the painting company not finishing my porch and deck flooring.  After reviewing all of the bids I had received, it was obvious that the bid I had chosen included the completion of the porch and deck.  Discussing it on the phone with the company owner, it was apparent he expected more money to finish the job.  Complaining to Michael on the phone, he suggested that he would call the owner to solve the problem.  Of course I jumped on his offer as that would remove me from conflict, one of my most hated activities outside of work.

After sleeping on it, Michael and I spoke Saturday morning and he delivered to me one of life's valuable lessons.  I had to take care of the matter myself.  I had to learn to stand up for myself in my personal matters, demand to be listened to and respected, and communicate with others in order to receive what is rightfully mine.  Caving in was not the solution; ignoring it was not the solution; paying extra was not the solution; and having someone else perform my dirty work was definitely not the solution.

At first I was pissed - why don't you want to fix the problem?  You know how I hate conflict in my personal life?  After thoroughly discussing it, it became apparent that my work attitude needed to infiltrate my personal life.  Toughness, directness, and speaking my mind as I do at work had to be integrated into my personality outside of 9-5.  After initially speaking with the company, I had a blond moment and entertained paying the company more for painting the flooring, which was originally included in the bid.  I snapped out of that pushover mentality and became determined to right what was wrong.

Girding my loins and channeling my anger, I got off the phone with Michael and immediately dialed the painting company owner.  When he asked how the house looked, I told him it was great with the exception of the porch and deck floor.  Taking a deep breath, I went on about how the flooring was included in his bid, he hadn't told me about any exclusion until the job was almost done, and if he thought my being a single, independent woman was a way to upcharge me, he was wrong.  He whined about having to spend more than he bid, had to bring more labor, and had to use more paint than he planned.  I told him that was outside of my control and he was the one who made the professional bid.  In addition, my money is just as important to me as his money, and he was not going to improve upon his lowball bid by increasing what I had to pay.  When I dropped the bombshell and stated that I would have to get a bid from another company to finish the flooring and deduct this amount from his last payment, he caved.  He said he would finish the job for free and do it himself this coming week.  After defining  that finishing the job meant acceptably painting both the front porch and back deck flooring, I agreed to this arrangement.  I made it clear to him that the project needed to be completed 100% to my satisfaction and only then would the final payment be made.

I felt so victorious!!!  I tackled confrontation, conflict and a difficult situation and won!!!  I immediately called Michael and told him about the conversation. He was so proud of me and I was proud of myself as well!!  My pair had sprouted and now there is no turning back!! If Michael had handled the situation, I would have lost out on the feelings of accomplishment, pride and success that I was experiencing.  I was strong, faced a difficult personal situation, and achieved the outcome I desired.  A defining personal moment in my life!!  Thanks Michael for being my support during this situation which forced me to personally grow and stretch.  Painful as it was, it was the right choice to handle this one on my own.

Reflections on Help This Friday

Not sure if it's because of my independence or perhaps my responsible nature, but it's hard for me to accept help from others. Instead of being grateful, for some reason my mind thinks if I accept help it undermines my independence and ability to cope. My reaction toward receiving help has been a habit that is very hard to change. There have been numerous times my Michael has offered to help me in a variety of ways; instead of accepting his help and advice, I will do it my own way. Unfortunately, more than once this has led to poor decision-making on my part that could have been avoided if only I had accepted his help. For an example, see my previous post on the house-painting project. I wanted to make a decision on my own so instead of waiting for him to review the bids, I charged ahead and now I'm paying the consequences for my poor attention to detail. This all could have been avoided if the help offered had been accepted.

In seeking insight on-line in order to improve, an article listed several very plausible reasons why I am so reluctant to seek help:

*You may feel that you're totally independent and don't need any help, or that any person offering you help may be doubting your ability to remain independent. You might have been raised to be especially independent or felt independent from an early age as a result of circumstances, such as irresponsible parents resulting in a need to "raise yourself".

*You may be frightened of rejection or you may have a tendency to perfectionism; both motivations can cause you to avoid accepting help for fear of failing or being seen as a failure.

*You may have had a much harder life than others and had to work harder than others you see around you now, or you may simply feel yourself far more independent. Consequently, you might feel that people not handling their own affairs is a sign of inferiority or incompetence.

*You might feel vulnerable. Perhaps somebody let you down in the past and you swore never to let that happen again, and spun a cocoon of self-reliance as your chief defense. Not wanting to show your perceived vulnerability can cause you to refrain from asking for help.

*If you're a business owner or professional of any description, you may be worried that needing help can serve as a sign of a lack of professionalism. This is also a problem in public roles where signs of vulnerability may put your position in harms way.

*You may hold a belief that it is a sign of weakness to reveal any problems at all to any other person.

 

In reviewing the above, the ones that strike to my heart are using self-reliance as a cocoon to protect myself along with being a professional who does not want to show vulnerability. In addition, refusing to accept help can come across as perfectionism and arrogance, which are not qualities I wish to portray.

My goal is to begin small steps to accepting help from others, especially when they only want the best for me, which is all my Michael ever wants in his life. Accepting help when offered, rather than rejecting it, will only serve to benefit both of us.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Pissed Off!!

Arrrggg!!!  It's easy to get angry when things don't go the way they were expected to go!!!

Currently my home paint job is 90% completed.  Gutters are painted and need to be replaced.  The last door was painted today.  Trim is looking awesome.  However, the paint job went awry today when I learned the base of my front porch and back deck were not included in the bid I accepted for the job.  WTF?? How was my intent misconstrued when I told the painting company that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, needed to be painted.  So now I'm waiting for the company to give me an additional bid to complete the flooring.  Was I boondoggled?  Tricked?  I'm not sure but I do know this type of situation really pisses me off!!

On the other hand, both yards are looking fabulous.  Everything has been weeded, edged, mowed, dug out, reseeded, and is almost to completion.  The gal painted a few of my items and moved my yard décor around.  However, come Saturday I will be out there redecorating it to my satisfaction....it all looks good but just doesn't "feel" right.

Deep breath as all will be done soon and I can move on to my next project.....relaxing during Michael's upcoming birthday adventure!!! 

Just Call It Simply Creepy!

This commercial has been popping up every time my TV is turned on. Actually, it's this commercial but no elderly lady is included in it...only the blonde. It's hard to tell exactly what the old dude is selling.....Simple Green or the lady! It's just creepy to me!!