Exotic

I am currently working very closely with 3 people from one of my company's vendor. They are world travellers and exotic in my eyes they are Indian. There are 2 men and one woman. They are extremely smart and challenge us every day, they are soft spoken, and I sometimes still don't understand everything that they say. Their work ethic is amazing. After our 8 hrs in the office, they go back to the hotel and work MORE. I really do enjoy working with them daily.

I think it is so interesting how interested we are in each other's cultures. While some of the group has been to the states before, none of us have been to India. We had a pizza lunch on Friday and were enthralled with the stories of the culture, the roles of men & women, the economic differences. Even the story of their trip over, a 4 hr flight to Dubai and then a 14 hr flight to the state was interesting to hear about. It has also been very interesting learining about the way they eat. No beef, no pork. Lots of fish, some chicken, and lots of vegetarian options. Oh yeah, and everything here is bland- they use SO much more spice.

I know it has to be frustrating at times- the lack of public transportation, some of the cultural and dietary differences. Outside of work, there is no rental car to hop in & drive around. In the town they are staying in, there is no public transportation save taxis. And that adds up fast. They do get rides to and from the office from the security guards here, but on their off times they are on their own. I do know that there are other folks at the company that are making sure that they go to different places, get taken to dinners, so that they don't just stay in their hotel. But it doesn't fill ALL the time. They have gone to the movies several times and shopping at the mall, you can only do that for so long.

Working so closely with these new friends, it hits home how sheltered we can become to others traditions, beliefs, and ways of life. It is an experience that I would not trade for anything.

A unique position....

I am currently in a unique position at work. For the last few months I have been working with a fellow team member on creating new directions or procedures to some of the transactions that we process at work. These transactions just so happen to be in the transition, moving to a vendor rather than being processed in house; oh yeah, and the vendor is off shore.

And no, this does not mean that I am training my replacement..... at least for a long while.

The unique position I am in is being a subject matter expert. We eased into the training, not throwing the most complex work at them from the start. Well, at the start of week 3 of the training, it is now more difficult. These are procedures that I labored over for weeks and thought were comprehensive- holes were found. And this is after I went over each procedure with the leader of the project.

While we can't write down each and every scenario for these transactions, I had moments of panic. I have even asked myself, fhve I done anything right? While I know that I have done many things right, and that I could not have forseen some of these snags, you always have doubts.

I have been working with one of the vendors-S is a very smart cookie and a pleasure to work with - it has put my decision making on point. I am the first to admit, I have always looked to someone to affirm what I am thinking or wanting to do is the right thing. Now I have someone asking ME how things should be done.. I have to stop doubting my knowledge and just go with my decision. How did I know I was right for this role? That would be when we went over quality samples and I was correcting our in house quality specialist. It made me feel pretty damned good.

It will be interesting to see what the next 3 weeks will bring, and what will happen when we end up going back into our regular office.

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Hi, today is 1/27/2011 and guess what we got last night?? Another 10-14 inches of white stuff :)

Woke up at 6 and called the weatherline- open for normal business hours (the air turned shades of blue). Decided to hop in the shower and get ready. At 6:30 I got 2 calls - 1 to the house, 1 to the cell from the company. An automated message - personalized too- to advise that we had a delay :)

Made shoveling out the car AGAIN, not so bad

Happy Thursday

Charlie Brown!!!!!

Took the day off as a birthday present to me. I don't work on my birthday, and since this year it is on a Saturday, I decided to take Friday off.

I awoke to a beautiful carpet of white out my window, about 4-5 inches of beautiful fluffy new snow :) Went outside to clean off the car and move it to a cleared spot so the plow could clean out more spaces. Thats when it happened....

What happened you ask?

Well, with the warmer temps of the last few days came snow melt, and the melt turns to sheets of ice. I was walking to mom's car on the plowed area and can you guess what happened?

I was at the back corner of the car when my feet went out from under me and did a complete Charlie Brown, coming down square on my tailbone then the back. My nice snow scraper/brush went flying against mom's car and snapped the brush off of the pole.

All I hear is.... hey, why did you throw the brush against my car?!! So, my response was, Do you see where I am!! Owie. She didn't even see me, let alone see that I was on the ground and sliding on the ice.

Got up slowly and limped my way to the dumpster where I threw away my snow brush :( Doesn't hurt too much while walking :)

After I got inside and divested myself of the coat, hat, boots, & mittens I went to sit on the couch and OWWWIIIEEEEE!

I feel like my butt broke, will be walking funny for a few days, and the klutz lives on!

snap crackle pop

Mother Nature is unleashing herself at us this year. Since the beginning of the year (18 days ago) some parts of this state have received 4o plus inches of snow!

I remember the winter of 96 being like this, snow multiple times a week. Back then it was fun because I was still in high school. Snow= no school. Now it means get your butt to work, because my company does not close. The massive record setting snow we had last week had the company delay starting until 10 am. Really? All the other major companies had later start times and then closed before that time came, but not ours. Ok, no more of that, its in the past.

As I was taking my shower this morning, I was listening to the snap crackle pop sounds outside my window - the sleet had started. I figured if I left a little earlier that I might be able to score a spot in our small parking garage. That means no chipping my way into my car after work. The morning the ride in wasn't too bad, it was slow going (20 mph). I was able to score a nice spot in the garage (YES!!!!).

Ride home was wet, but the fun began when I got home. The plow came out during the afternoon and got rid of the snow, but the shine I saw was not good. The entire parking lot (minus the spaces because they didn't touch those) and all sidewalks were sheets of ice. I spinkled some icemelt on my step/stoop and let it work its magic.

The weathermen are all giddy over the upcoming storm on Frday. Really??? Come on Mother Nature, do you have to dump another 6+ inches on my day off?

the Globes

I have to say, the Golden Globes is my favorite award show.... alcohol + no eating= great evening.

Just saw Annette Benning win an award.... did someone pull her out of bed? What bed head on both her and Al Pacino!
Tilda Swinton desperatley needs to embrace any color other than stark white...
Johnny Depp is looking good, LOVE the color of Claire Daines' dress- she said the inner 6 yr old had to have the hot pink dress :)
Did you see Carrie Underwood's dress, she just sparkled.
Missed some of the arrival show so I'll check out the dresses tomorrow online, am loving the bold colors!

Fun Friday

Unplanned sleepover tonight!

Picked up the Munchkin from school today and her medicine from my dad's house. In true family tradition, she has her first ear infection. At almost 4 she is lucky to have withstood this long. My brother and I were NO strangers to the achey and popping ears. Hope she doesn't get them into adulthood like her auntie.

Moved her carseat to the middle seat in the car.... she is tall & skinny and no longer had any foot room. She is almost 30 lbs but I think it is time to get a booster for my car. We are thinking a tall booster because she is too young and sleepy for the backless ones.

Dinner was my niece's choice. I asked what she wanted.... hotdogs please. Stopped at Stop & Shop and picked up Hebrew National (my fav) they were on sale & reduced fat- double score!
A piece of cheese was scored from the deli and a fast run thru the store with random throw in items from the little one.

Batman and She-ra were the entertainment choices for the evening, by demand of the little one. Love her taste in cartoons.

Tomorrow will have a quick morning at home before meeting my brother in the late morning.

I love the unexpected sleepovers, and want to take advantage of them while she still likes it!

I think tonight is going to be an EARLY night because she wakes up way early :)

Snow?

So I don't know if you heard, but it snowed in CT today. Just a minor storm really, just a dusting. See? There was no snow last night. Honest.

This led to an unplanned vacation/snow day because the company did not close. These photos were taken after 11am, just after the plow started to clear the driving lanes and about an hour after the office opened. See the black lump/car? That was mom's car. After cleaning the top of the car, the drifts came to mid thigh.

Pay no mind to the christmas wreath below... we are a little slow in taking the decorations down.... now have to wait for the snow to go away.

Ended up being a nice peaceful day. Parking lot still a wreck because the plow never cleared out any of the spots, so we all stayed where we were today.

It was a good day, got to snuggle under blankets, next to the fire, napped, consumed hot cocoa and generally relaxed. Am re charged and ready for the rest of the week.

Did you have fun today?

TV addiction

I was introduced to a new show btwn Christmas & New Years called Eureka. Yes, I know its not a new show and has been around for a few years; but being without cable for 20+ years means, lots of shows can be new to me.

If you have not heard of it, its a SciFi show about a town in Oregon called Eureka filled with science's best of the best who constantly push the boundries of science with hysterical and sometimes terrifying results. Bonafide geniuses fill the town, and there are a few'normals' to add to the mix. Some major leauge hotties on the show I have to admit!

The show sucked me in, and I just finished watching season 3.5- they are going to air season 4 this year sometime, so it will be a while until I can watch it.

I have a beautiful snow globe outside my window :)

try something new

I have had a small bread machine for a few years and today I decided to branch out and try something new with the machine. The machine has the capability not only for bread, but pizza and roll dough, pasta dough, cakes, cookie dough and even jam. Its a wonder.

Maddy and I decided to make pizza dough today. We measured and poured and waited an hour and 45 minutes. Thats when the fun began. I gathered the dough from the pan and put it on my floured cutting board. It was so satiny and light, have never felt anything like it- so much different from the dough in the bag from the stores. I stretched it out and put it on my pizza stone that was covered in cornmeal. We spread out bright red marinara sauce, sprinkled shredded cheese and Maddy put on the meatball slices.

In about 2 and a half hours from the time I started, we all enjoyed the crunchy pie. The crust was amazing. Will have to do this again, either on a day off, or trying the timer function, it goes up to 13 hrs.

Looks yummy doesn't it?

Happy 2011

I am sitting on my couch gazing at the fireplace. The house looks like elves came and trashed. Fun was had. The munchkin had fun and crashed about an hour ago. We 'counted down' and had 'champagne'.
The entertainment of the evening was a few Batman movies. Once the little crashed, we out on Eureka, am working my way through season 1.
We had hors d'vores for noms and cake to celebrate the end of the year.

Hoping that 2011 will be a good year all the way around.

Happy New Year to all my friends and family, love you all!

Blonde moment

blonde moment of the day:
Goal is to be at work at 7 am. Reset clock to wake up earlier.
Blonde moment: Setting the alarms for 5:35 & 5:50 PM

Yup, thats how I roll

2011 goals

Every year I make a few resolutions (diet, debt) and each year they fall by the wayside.

I am telling the world that in 2011 I want to explore the corporate side of my company. I love the department I am in, but things have changed a lot this year; not just in my department. I think it is time to expand my horizons. There are fewer postings than there used to be, but I am going to look around.

I am going to start moving around more and eat healthier. Note, I am not saying the evil 4 letter word that starts with a D. One of the easier places to change is what I eat at work. Cafeteria eating is NOT the healthiest.

I want to put myself in a better spot finiancially in the upcoming year.

What kind of things do you want to accomplish next year?

Have a great New Year celebration, no matter what your plans.

Snow Globe effect

Did you know there is a phenomena when it snows? It is the snow globe effect. The snow blankets all sound and looks like a mad elf is shaking globe for all its worth. Right now the driveway and courtyard are a pristine blanket of white. You can just hear the howl of the wind through the windows.

It is so beautiful, I am the first to admit that I want to be curled up in the living room in front of the fire & either watching the snow or movies!

The weathermen have predicted 10-20 inches of snow state wide and have the potential to be in the top 10 storms in the state's history. I am very glad that Christmas & Christmas Eve were snow free as the 2 locations were not snow friendly to drive in.

Chatted with a friend who lives a few hours away who is also enjoying the relaxation of the snow (I hope). I hope it stays nice & quiet for her for the next few days.

Time to grab a snack- cheese ball from yesterday & homemade cookies may do the trick. Only made 1 kind this year - peanut butter blossoms.

Go. Enjoy the peaceful world that comes only when it snows. Maybe even say a little prayer that you get one more day for your holiday weekend. Eh, can't hurt, right?

The year Kenny Loggins ruined Christmas

I found this today and could NOT stop laughing, you have to check it out!

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/12/year-kenny-loggins-ruined-christmas.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hyperbole-and-a-half+%28Hyperbole-And-A-Half%29

Santa was here!

I have to admit, as we get older, the feeling of being amazed by Santa diminishes.

I had a wonderful surprise today, Santa came to the office!!!!!

I came into work same as always, logged on, went through my email and went to grab some breakfast.

I came back to my desk, and in front of me was a huge beautiful white poinsettia and a bag of gourmet chocolates with a card. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. I had the biggest smile on my face and felt a little giddy at the unexpected gift.

The gift was from a boss of mine that I am working on an internship with. I didn't even know that she was going to be in the office today.

Thank you again B, you made my day!

mashups... its whats for dinner

Mom & I are famous for taking pantry, fridge & freezer ingredients and mixing/mashing them up into a workable dinner. Doesn't always pan out the way you expect.

Tonight however was a good mashup. No meat, a touch high in sodium, but a very workable dinner in a pinch.

Butternut Stuffing "Soup"

1 box Stove Top Cranberry Stuffing
2 boxes V8 Butternut Squash Soup (4 cups)
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
1/3 cup broken pecans

Empty contents of stuffing box into casserole dish. Add contents of soup containers. Stir in vegetables and nuts.
Cook at 350 for 45 minutes till steaming. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

Even have lunch for tomorrow.

Something Special

I have been working hard on a special gift for one of my BFFs. She & her hubs are expecting a beautiful baby in the first part of next year. (I hope near my birthday!)

I have decided to make part of her gift for the wee one, and last night I am happy to say I have finished part 2. I have one more thing that I want to attempt, but if it doesn't work out, I am ok with that. (not a ususal response for me)

I would love to share photos, but that will have to wait until everything is done- when mommy & the wee one have the gift.

If only I could get labels- Made with love by "Auntie Cathy" (just kidding)

Enough being vauge. Happy Friday

Newport - good eats

Last week I spent the week in Newport R.I. My family has a time share at Inn on the Harbor, right on Thames St. We had a harbor view, boat piers in front and other hotels on the side, not bad. Vacation was very relaxing and boy oh boy did I eat.

The great think about visiting after the season ends.... no crowds and great restaurant deals. Here are some of the places we went to last week.

The Red Parrot, Newport, RI

On Saturday night, we went across the st to Red Parrot. Had a window seat and laughed hysterically at some of the costumes we saw- togas, men in baby diapers, a crayon..... Had a really decent steak dinner and a drink called psychedelic iguana.

Sardella's, Newport RI

This Italian restaurant is much larger than it looks. Sardellas is a Newport staple and they have a deal 2 dinners + bottle of vino for $24. Meatballs w/ linguine, garlic bread, and Merlot... yummy!

Atlantic Beach Club, Newport/Middletown line, RI

Atlantic Beach Club is one of my favorites, we went twice this visit, we were lucky enough to hit restaurant week (started the day before we left). On wed night they have a special- all dinners (except lobsta) $12.95. Being a non-fish/seafood eater, of course I went for the fillet minion. SO tender, excellent dinner, and had key lime cheesecake for dessert. On Saturday afternoon, we went again (restaurant week) for lunch- this time 3 course lunch for $16- how can you go wrong? Cesar salad, Italian Steak Sandwich on chiabata bread, and pumpkin/chocolate bread pudding. I have a feeling, we'll be going next year too.

Ocean Cliff Hotel & Resort, Newport, RI

Ocean Cliff- Gorgeous hotel off of Ocean Drive that has a funky restaurant/bar called the Safari Room. Again had the $16 3 course lunch- NE clam chowder, roasted turkey/stuffing sandwich, and a truly excellent key lime pie. It may have been the best key lime I have had in a long time. The meal was not my favorite, but we had to go for the views and location.

The Grill at 41 North. Christie's Pier, Newport RI
This was by far the most expensive restaurant that we went to. I had a bit of sticker shock, steaks for $54 and the least expensive Merlot $74! Good thing for the restaurant week deal- 3 course dinner $30. (+$14 for a glass of wine). Had French onion soup (a bit of a disappointment), an amazing fillet minion with pumpkin mashed potatos, and a triple chocolate cup cake to round it out. The dining room was crazy elegant, this was my table (of course, no boats and at night) but a hell of a view. This restaurant was also the closest, right next door to the hotel. I heard rates at 41 north hotel go for $250-$1200 a night. Yeah, not in my budget!

After reading this, it should not come as a surprise I put on a couple of lbs (only 3) with all of these amazing meals. Now its time to take it back off.

I took some great photos of the crazy waves, I'll share more when I get them into the computer.