Monday Mumbles 18

1. Well, at least now I'm hitting publish on the correct day of the week, yes?

2. I have decided there is a new nerdy work phrase that I can use just for me - you can take the girl out of Ops, but you can't take the Ops outta the girl. Meaning.....I might be excited to be out of the daily grind of Operations, but my mentality and the efficiency needed to make an Ops environment work is ingrained in my work ethic.

3. That revelation last week helped me do two things. First, I realized it was what was causing my internal struggles with less than stellar performances around me. Second, I could breathe a bit easier with the knowledge that it was this factor causing little to no acknowledgement of these less than stellar performances.

4. I also must realize that just because I *think* something can be done better, I can't be arrogant to think I could be the one to do it better, nor is it as easy as I think it might be to fix.

5. As I type this, I hear the movie Avatar say the words "bitch" and "punk ass". Umm...I thought this was a kids' movie too? Turner is opting to ignore me when I am asking him to verify what I heard. Afraid I'll turn the channel. Which I will. When I'm done typing my Mumbles.

6. As a side note, who thought this movie was so great? A blue...person/thing with a tail? What? Really?

7. I had an afternoon date Saturday with Hubs and I shocked him by suggesting we go to a movie. He was thrilled because I hate the movies. You all probably know that. BUT...I was craving a movie coke and popcorn, so I sucked it up.

8. Thanks to my sisters for coming up and hanging with the little people. I know they can wear a person out, but it was very much appreciated. To have a babysitter come to the house instead of us traveling somewhere to get that "service" was a nice change.

9. Just FYI - I think it's BOGUS it's only in the 70s in July. Not just bogus, but stupid. Dumb.

10. Grown people acne sucks. Not just sucks, but stupid. Dumb.

Monday Mumbles 17

Mumbling on Tuesday isn't unheard of around here. Deal with it.

1. I'm tardy. Fairly certain I haven't mumbled since before the wedding. How did it go? It went great. You saw photos. We survived.

2. My brother and his wife were pleasantly lovely and wonderful hosts, as were the parents. Jim and Rachel, congrats...wonderful ceremony and celebration...more to enjoy as the years go past! Can't wait to share it with you.

3. Is it terrible that I put Evelyn in the boys' hand me down underpants when we're at home? They fit, they serve their purpose, and it saves money.

4. I'm thinking about taking Owen out, just him and me, and do his school supply shopping. Maybe we can find some excitement in the idea of school if he feels special.

5. But then again, he honestly might find more energy and enthusiasm for it if Turner is along with us and feigning excitement over the supply shopping so Owen will as well. Turner legitimately likes school so it shouldn't be so hard to fake.

6. I can still be mesmorized by the show So You Think You Can Dance. Am I alone in this feeling?

7. Sometimes, when I see a delivery truck rumbling down our road, I hope they're bringing me a package. I'm not expecting a package, I just want one. So long as it's happy and stuff.

8. But of course this only serves to remind me I haven't sent anything to anyone in a very long time. A few greeting cards here and there, but no good packages. I should rectify this and adjust my karma.

9. My sister suggested Saturday afternoon that we attend the Saturday evening Kansas City Royals baseball game. And so we did. I sacrificed a date night with Hubby (oops.....) but I've been wanting to attending one for a couple of years and hadn't made it out. I'm so happy I decided to take her up on it. Thank you Sis.

10. I started back to boot camp this month and am loving it. It's all about summer. The warmth and the sweat are perfect. Anyone else love that feeling?

Tuesday Owenisms 9

I am self-aware. I realize that I don't have a palette that chefs require or diners of my kitchen desire. I get it. But can you shut up about it already?


Mom: Kids, we have chicken and noodles for dinner. If you don't want it, you go to bed without dinner. It's what I'm serving, like it or not. I AM willing to help make it taste better for you. I can add butter to the mashed potatoes or season salt to the chicken and noodles, if you like.

Owen: I know how you can make it better for me Mom.

I'm excited that he's willing to compromise and smile to myself as I drive us home.

Owen: Uuuhhhhh....get a new food.

Funny Face Friday 9

We had my brother's wedding this past weekend. Sissy had attitude. 

My older brother and his adorable son sharing a moment.

This is their personalities in a nutshell - Turner's unassuming pose, Owen "too cool" hand in pocket guy, Evelyn sassy miss hands on hip gal, and Nobu wondering what the heck he got himself into with this family.

"She SAID smile, big brother. Sheesh. It's not that hard." 

She better be this happy with me forever.

Owen's face. That is all. Oh, and his short socks. 

This started out as a "please pose sassy", arms crossed kind of look. It turned into this photo.

They might have each eaten half of their respective snow cone. Oh well - it was needed on this particular hot day at the Omaha Zoo!

At the end of our zoo adventure, we jumped on the tram for the final leg back to the entrance/exit. You can tell by the looks on their tired faces that we were pooped. Owen's eyes are fabulously expressive.

Get Write Wednesday 5

Lately, I have had to ask myself if I'm too serious. Am I being too neurotically "on top of things" at work? Have I pondered a 'less than ideal' situation too much and over-complicated the problem? Is it possible I take on social hiccups as a cause that doesn't necessarily deserve so much attention?

It might be a large fault of mine that I can rationalize and justify my feelings, but I don't think I'm taking things too far. I mean honestly, how can you take your job TOO seriously? And if a problem exists, big or small, doesn't it need to be fixed, especially if it can be? And lastly, if a social hiccup leaves most of us saying "that's not right"....then it certainly deserves attention.

By taking on these types of challenges I automatically qualify for "more serious" personality syndrome, I suppose. But the more that Hubs and I discuss spiritual and religious ideals and what we believe, the more I am certain that we aren't here on Earth to simply enjoy it and to be seeking pleasure. At my brother's wedding this past weekend, the pastor even mentioned his pondering conclusion on "Is life to be enjoyed, or endured?" It was...both.

I could spin this Get Write Wednesday into a million different directions. We could talk parenting, we could discuss career and corporate behavior, we could discuss race or politics or religion. I will spare you all that today. Today, I just want to, at a high level, ponder the simple idea of TAKING ACTION. More specifically why I choose to take action and my concern for those who never seem to find a reason to do so.

More and more often, I keep repeating the idea (to myself and others) "Wouldn't they appreciate the fact that you told them your concerns? If they seek you out to talk through their issues, I find it perfectly acceptable to ask if you can provide honest feedback."  And when I say honest, I really mean extreme clarity and poignant candidness but with tactfulness that not all of us possess. Some people just don't have good delivery. I get that. But do we always need good delivery when we know the person delivering the thoughts are sincere in their message?

While pondering what to blog and the fact I knew I wanted to blog about "TAKING ACTION", this quote came across my Twitter feed.

"My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better." - Steve Jobs

What if we all took this approach? What if we stop accepting mediocrity in others just because they do? We can't change others and we can't ask them to stand up and lead by example. But when they continue being pleasure seeking mutes, we don't have to be mute ourselves.

When I went to verify my Twitter quote was indeed a Jobs quote, I found another interesting article about Why You're Not a Leader. I think this article is powerful far beyond the corporate world. Can't we all strive to be leaders of our families, communities and social circles? I could take this article and tear it up and churn out a different write-up for everyday life and less about the work place. Maybe then, we could all make more sense of leading with purpose.

My favorites:

3. You don’t care: Indifference is a characteristic not well suited to leadership. You simply cannot be a leader if you don’t care about those you lead. The real test of any leader is whether or not those they lead are better off for being led by them.

I’m often asked what it takes to get to the top – it’s as if people want an add water and mix recipe for leadership. While there are many paths to leadership, they’re certainly not all created equal. Perhaps a more telling issue in today’s world is many of those desiring to get ahead, have no desire to help others get ahead.

Monday Mumbles 16

1. Do you ever feel like you have a "free" weekend and then all of a sudden, it's Monday and you wonder what you did with all that "free" time only to realize you never actually had any "free" time?

2. Turner had a ball game yesterday afternoon and although their team lost, he had a pretty fantastic game. He's the energy guy on the floor, tying up every loose ball and being a general pest to the other team. He's almost always one of the smallest yet he will drive it inside and do some funky lay-up. Biased I know, but he's fun to watch.

3. And for those of you who recall, I was his coach for two years. I get basketball. It takes all I have in me to not holler at the coach(es) when I consistently see our team failing to do some very simple things. Fundamentals, they're called. Because to be a decent player, you fundamentally need THESE abilities. Aggravating.

4. Jim, I'm hopeful that Evelyn knows she has to wear her dress for a short period of time and she had better not cry during you and Rachel's day. She seems agreeable here at home. I worry about the crowd when we're there.

5. If I just type my fears, maybe they will turn into nothing and I've never said them out loud. Right?

6. If some of you haven't read what Paula Deen and her brother are being accused of, here you go. It's not about one slip 30 years ago. It's about hundreds of "Southern Style" living entrenched in their hearts and minds. Accepting her apology isn't something any fan (who doesn't personally know her) is really capable of doing. An issued apology in the heat of the moment means as much as marshmallows in hell.

7. Emily, marshmallows are on my mind. Now we might have to splurge.

8. Recently I've been advised to "let things go" so I don't explode and "don't take it too seriously", all with regard to work. I do take work seriously and I won't stop, and I will let things go when my point is made or I'm not being talked or treated in a way that is unacceptable. That's just the way I'm made up.

9. To be clear, I still love my job. :) I honestly do. It was the best career move I ever made.

10. What I can't figure out is how our kids came out so darn cute. Don't we all feel that way? I suppose some people say, "My kids better be cute...I've been hot since 6th grade!" but that hasn't been me and I've seen pictures of Hubs when he was young. Ha!