Wednesday, December 21, 2016

A Good Pot Luck and Bye to My Blue's

Work goes on. The head honcho finally made a decision, and kudos, she made the tough one, but the appropriate one considering all the parameters our team put before her in making our recommendation. However, we are now three weeks past our original presentation where she needed to see more before giving us the go ahead, and two weeks past our original launch date. We were resigned to accept defeat, so this was a pleasant turn of events. Now we need to regroup before we communicate out to the stakeholders. It was a flood of luncheon activity in the office Tuesday. Different divisions were hosting holiday gatherings before the majority of folks take the next week off. I am so ready for a break as well, but will  probably have at least one meeting that I'm hoping I can either call into, or do via Webex, because of the delay in order to get back on track.

I could have actually gone to my choice of luncheon's. The union I am in was hosting a "free" lunch. I never attend the meetings, nor the monthly lunches over the meetings. It happened to be next door to our division meeting. Ours was a very traditional modified potluck, where we signed up under categories, but our choice in the category. We laughed when two women who meant to attend the union lunch, saw our spread and came down, filled a plate, before they realized they were in the wrong place. We all had a good laugh, and of course, there was plenty of food for our group. They were quite red faced when they headed back to their meeting room. The buffet had salads and a wild rice hot dish; it is Minnesota, don't you know. There were breads and hummus, veggie trays and deviled eggs and the director had a couple pizzas delivered. Of course, treats were plenty, but I resisted, instead, had more veggies, bread, dip and hummus for my desert. We had a game of Pictionary, and one gal had made up a cart as a hot chocolate station, with marshmallows, candy canes,  syrups, and whipped cream. That is the real reason I skipped desert-I drank mine. 

I'm coming out of my blue's, and hope by end of day Thursday, I'll be in full on good spirits. I've resigned to the fact that my furniture won't be arriving until after New Years. If it makes it here next week, it will be a surprise. In other festive news, DH said his car heater is done for, among other things, and parts alone will be nearly $1,200 so he is looking at options. We have dutifully been paying ourselves a car payment a month for years for just such a time, so the cash is there (separate from our other savings). The water heater didn't start and wouldn't ignite, but we had added a service plan when the new one went in last year, so no out of pocket to get it back up. It was a crazy feat of coordination between DH running from work to let the service worker in and me running DD to violin and back, so DH could get back to work. Last week, I would have been on melt down mode with the car and the water heater situation.The fact that I can take them in stride this week is a good sign. Maybe I need a good pot luck every week to brighten my outlook.

14 comments:

  1. I'm glad the mood is brightening, Sam.
    We've got car woes, too - Jon's been on You Tube and he's currently outside the the torrential rain attempting to sort it out himself and save the cash. xxx

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    1. Cars my trial and need. DH makes his living from them, but such an expense. I know your cash is targeted to better things like India, so don't blame him. what a trouper.

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  2. Your potluck sounds fabulous! Our office has brought in festive chocolates for a snack option (we normally have fresh fruit) & I'm both loving it & cursing it. Because I can't resist. ;-)

    Here's hoping the positivity continues! My goal for today is no sugar. I feel so much better without it - why is it so hard to resist????

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    1. I work with many health conscious people, so the treats, other than the hot chocolate bar, were not a feature, and I was fine skipping the pizza. I'll always go for salad and veggie options if they are prepared and ready for me to just serve myself. I need to get in the prep and go mind set at home as well, because I do really enjoy fresh food over processed, salads over a microwaved lunch. Chocolate though, I love, so holding myself to tastes not plates. I've been trying to stay ahead of any potential weight gain, particularly since my surgery and slow normalizing has made exercise really tough.

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  3. Sounds like a nice lunch. A friend of mine has a saying "Whatever will be will be". I try to say that to myself when I get stressed out.

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    1. It helps a bit. What you can control sometimes is only our own response, right.

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  4. So glad you're feeling brighter Sam. We're having car discussions at the mo. Lovejoy thinks we should sell one of ours or both etc and just have one car. I know we don't need two cars anymore but I love my little mini it's ten years old and I've had it from new ( daft decision years ago lol) and I don't want to let it go. Lovejoy says it's impractical with rubbish visibility (all true) so we will see.

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    1. If we lived in an area with decent transportation, I would go down to one car in a heart beat, but just not an option. Oh the mini's-I'd hate to give that up. One of the only cars that I think would just like to have for sheer aesthetic value.

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  5. Saving the car payments in a savings was a brilliant idea!! We should have but so many other "needs" arise around here..

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    1. It has meant some tight months cash flow wise, and I'm sure here was a month or two in the last 4+ years we maybe skipped a deposit, but I am very thankful we disciplined ourselves for this purpose.

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  6. This is not the time of year to have to deal with stuff breaking down so being prepared, which you are, can prevent a holiday meltdown. Keeping your car savings separate from other savings is key - you won't feel so bad using those car savings as their purpose is clear. Well done Sam!

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    1. I'm not excited about it but it is inevitable. The "keep making payments" approach has been deemed a good move.

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  7. I'm glad you're feeling brighter SAM. I'm feeling rough again, and KL has had a traumatic experience today and needs a hug, which I can't provide until Saturday. All the presents are wrapped and her room is ready for her, so everything else will have to remain undone if I don't feel up to it. Happy Christmas to you and all the family, and thanks for being so supportive over the last year. x

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    1. I'm sorry and send in virtual hug across the sea. Today hasn't been mentally great-My pretending to not stress about my lack of preparedness is a bit of a sham. I'm feeling stressed. Here's to us both having a good Christmas and a happier 2017.

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