The Times, They're a' Changin'

The job I have now - the supposed 'dream job' - the job I adore so much, and the team I feel so connected to has been disrupted.

I'm trying not to be so dramatic about it all, but it's really affecting me in more ways than I realized it would.

I've had a week off to process some of it, and I'm dreading going back to work on Monday. My last four days with the boss I adore. My first day, Friday, with a new interim boss who I feel I need to prove myself to all over again.

Change is good, and I know it's a sign for me to start assessing my career goals and figuring out how I can take some opportunity from this change.

Regardless, if I seem to be a little elusive over the holiday season, it's because i've got a few things on my plate right now!

Going South

We have returned from our trip to Nashville. A day early, mind you, because the Smashing Pumpkins show was postponed (and i'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I can unload my tickets and not lose the $100+ on them).

We had a fabulous time. Nashville wasn't what I expected, but I was pleasantly suprised at how laid back the city is, how nice the people there are, and the general quirks when discovering a new place.

We packed a lot into a two-night trip. We saw alot of the touristy stuff, but it's what we wanted to do. We visited the home of Andrew Jackson, and took a tour of the Ryman. We did a little shopping, and a lot of eating and drinking. I'm still dreaming about the Sweet Potato Pancakes I had for breakfast yesterday- WOW! We got to visit with Sarah, and hear all about her trip to South Africa, which was awesome!

We opted to leave on Monday because the show had been canceled, and left things open-ended with the thought that we might stay in Louisville on our way back, depending on how things went. We stopped for the Maker's Mark Distillery tour in Loretto, KY. My husband was in heaven! Then we made our way to have dinner with my friend Scott, and his sister, Amy at Lynn's Paradise cafe in Louisville. We then opted just to make the trip home and save our money and just relax here today.

Here are some photo highlights of our trip:

My favorite stop on Broadway: Hatch Show Print!



The Glorious Ryman Auditorium!



Dinner with one amazing lady!



I think this shot pretty accurately captures how excited Chris was about our Maker's Mark tour! This is a giant vat of bourbon behind him, about two days into the 6+ year process.

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

I've taken on a new responsibility outside of work. As a board member for this organization it is my job to raise awareness about environmental issues as they pertain to my profession as well as the world we live in.

Last night I had the wild realization that I need to make some more changes in my own daily life to truly perform this role at my best. Cincinnati is a huge commuter city. In a survey released by Forbes, I found out that Cincinnati is the sixth most expensive commuter city in the nation.

I'm going to go outside of my comfort zone tomorrow and ride the bus to work. This is a big deal in this city because my commute is short (5 miles), and I have free parking at my office. So i'll walk a few blocks to the bus stop from home, and a few blocks from the bus stop into my office. It will make my day a little longer, but it will be an interesting experiment. Like a wise philosopher once said "it's not easy being green."

I'd like to keep the momentum and do this at least twice a week on my way into work. I often have activities planned for after work that will last beyond the bus schedule. But reducing my carbon emissions by 40% every week is a big deal, I think.

We'll see.

Venting/Things that Annoy Me

1. Eating so fast you feel sick
2. People who chew gum in an office setting and pop in CONSTANTLY. And by constantly, I mean for the entire day. Several times a minute.
3. That today isn't Friday already.
4. That I'm all worried about saving money for our trip, but I went ahead and bought a new pair of shoes at lunch.
5. People who crack their gum - have I mentioned that? It's happened 4 times - nope, 5 times since I began writing this post. Oops. 6 times now.

Communication Is the Only Way

Oofda!

Sometimes all the frustration, the anger, the excitment and anticipation of life all builds up and you don't even realize what it's doing to you as a person. It affects your most important relationships, your sleep, and your ability to relax.

A good talk (or debate as it may be) really goes a long way. Lots of tears and lots of hugs.

It's just what I needed. I think it's what my marriage needed, too. I just adore my husband.

In My Best Munchkin Voice..

DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD! Which old witch? The WICKED witch!

Got some very good news at work today. I can't divulge in this public form, but just ask me - I am happy to share!

Realizing Something In Me Has Changed...

This morning while walking the dog, we had a confrontation with two dogs who were off the leash followed behind by a very hostile dog owner.

To back up just a bit, we are in our third week of a leash aggression class with our dog, who has developed some issues in the past year with other dogs approaching him closely while on the leash. And it's only on the leash. We've been spending family time together every morning for 30 minutes, walking with Quinn and working on some of the exercises we've been given.

This morning as we were walking Quinn, it was still dark. A black lab who looked very much like Lucy, our neighbor's dog, approached us off the leash. There was no human in sight. Quinn got excited, but he hadn't shown signs of full aggression yet. I asked Chris to check the dog's tag to make sure it wasn't Lucy. Just then a setter came out of no where and ran up right into Quinn's face, and at this point he got defensive and lost it. Barking uncontrollably. I handed the leash to Chris and proceeded to try to command the other dogs to "go" and pointed away from my dog. In any direction we moved, these dogs would follow, and they were starting to fight back.

As this was going on the owner of the dog came following behind, out of the darkness. He began yelling at me. Insulting me. Being an all around jackass. Telling me that the dogs were feeding off of my energy and I needed to be calm and leave his dogs alone.

Well a few months ago, I probably would have slunk back, like always and went on my way. Today, something snapped in me. I fought back. I told him not to speak to me in the way he was. I told him that I had no control over my dog when his dogs were not leashed and I could not get away from them. I pointed out that he was a good 30 feet behind his dogs and in no position to control the situation.

Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it was a good victory for me, personally. A little part of me wished that Chris would have spoken up, but I know he was trying to get Quinn under control, and I probably needed to speak for myself, alone. Interestingly, he almost had the dog calmed before the jackass guy started yelling at me.

I was pretty proud of myself for standing my ground today. I felt strong and proud.