First there was getting the house ready to put on the market. Mission accomplished on that one. Of course, now we have to keep the place clean at all times so we’ll be ready to clear out at a moment’s notice in case a potential buyer wants to come for a visit. With three dogs, that’s not easy. But it’s kind of nice living in what feel like a model home.
Twelve days ago, our youngest grandson, Joey, had his fourth birthday. Hard to believe the little guy is four already. We were actually at the WV place on his birthday, so we went to visit him last Sunday. We got him a tool belt (his Mom’s idea) and some tools as a gift. Here are a couple pictures. He’s quite proud of his tool belt and tools.
We had to take our dogs with us because the house was being shown while we were gone. It was a bit rush-rush trying to get out of here, so I forgot my “real” camera and only had the point-and-shoot. That’s why there aren’t more kids pics.
I saw that bumper sticker the other day and just had to have a picture. I’m not talking about the Coast Guard magnet, I’m talking about the POOP one.
Work has been a bit interesting lately, too. My employer’s parent company purchased another similar company that is actually way bigger. So a lot of our work processes are going away and we’re learning new stuff. That’s a bit backwards, right? Usually it’s the buyer that makes the purchased company adapt. In this case, it makes sense.
My role is changing a bit, in a good way, so I got a new boss. She was working on a really big project, which was due on Friday (at 5:00 PM CT). Problem was, she was scheduled to be out on vacation Wednesday through Friday, so she wondered if I’d take over for her. I told her I’d be happy to. That’s when she said something like, “Don’t answer yet, there’s a catch.”
Because it was such a big opportunity (dollar-wise) for the company, the team wanted the proposal writer there in person. So I had to go to Michigan. I flew out on Tuesday afternoon and was supposed to come home on Thursday. Proposal development is never predictable. My Thursday afternoon return turned into a Friday night return. We e-mailed the documents out at 4:58 PM. Yep, a whole two minutes to spare. It was a bit stressful to say the least.
The trip was good, though. Exhausting, but good. I got to meet my new boss Tuesday evening. Wednesday through Friday I was in the office. I got to meet some people there, too, which is always cool. I work from home, remember? So I’d guess about 90% (or more) of the people I work with, I have never met in person. And I really loved their office. The building itself was your typical, one-story, suburban office-park-type building. But it was surrounded by large ponds/small lakes. So there were critters everywhere. I was kicking myself for not taking my camera. I saw egrets, and a heron. Turtles and frogs. One of the women I was working with said she saw a beaver.
It’s really in a pretty setting, on the outskirts of Ann Arbor. I’d only ever been to Michigan briefly before, but knew nothing of Ann Arbor. It was such a last-minute thing, the only thing I really learned before going is that Ann Arbor is outside of Detroit. Knowing how depressed Detroit is, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, but I was going to work, not play.
It’s a shame I didn’t have time to explore. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan. That’s a REALLY big school. So the town is quite vibrant. There’s all sorts of shops and restaurants. The university was founded in Detroit in 1817. It moved to Ann Arbor 20 years later. There are quite a few interesting, historic buildings there.
I did poke around a little bit Friday evening, but I was mentally exhausted. I’d only had about 15 hours of sleep all week. I’m hoping I get to go back. If so, I’ll take the SLR camera and build some extra time into the itinerary for sightseeing.
On the way back to the hotel Thursday evening, I noticed this bike chained to the hotel’s bike rack. It made me smile. I had a bike like that when I was little. Do you remember bikes like that with banana seats and those big handlebars?
My flight left Detroit a little after 10:00 PM. We landed at BWI around 11:40. I was sort of comatose during the flight (two glasses of wine with dinner probably helped that), so it went by really fast. It’s a short flight anyway, but that one flew by. Literally. 🙂
Saturday morning was all about running errands. Hubby’s Mom and great-aunt came over for dinner, so I had to get all that stuff.
I barely had an hour to rest before dinner prep started. I snapped this picture Saturday morning before I left.
It’s good to be home. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.
Wow, your life really is busy. And changes at work always consume us because we care so much about doing a good job. Hang in there until things stabilize.
I had one of those bikes! Nice childhood memory.
Joey is adorable! He asked me for a Nemo to play with in the pool. When I called him on his birthday he asked where it was….thankfully I was able to find one and sent it off to him! He has a good memory! I loved my banana seat bike when I was little, we would play taxi since it was big enough for two!
Ah, banana seat bike memories! 🙂 I used to pretend mine was a motorcycle and practice parallel parking it. Of course, I did it all wrong and parked it like a car which – as a motorcyclist you know – is all wrong. Oh well, I still had fun.
Very busy week for you, but at least you got to see critters and a banana-seat bike. :-)) Loved the pics of Joey with his tool belt, very grown up! I have my doubts about that bumper sticker though, yuk…. And hey, great to see your talent is being recognized at work!
Ralph, I hope things do stabilize. Tiff, the kid’s memory is amazing. Shan, why am I not surprised you parallel parked your bike? Annelies, I think YUK on the bumper sticker, too!