The Difference of a Year

A tough day at the office. Seriously, I am working. Well at this very moment I am blogging. But this is where I am practicing law today. Oh what a difference a year can make.

Grand Opening Countdown

The Franchise opens in one month!

Our house is knee deep in restaurant equipment that can't yet be stored in the construction zone of our store. We hired our manager away from a celebrity chef. We are getting job applicants and we haven't even posted yet.

I am thrilled and worried and overwhelmed all at the same time.

The best part - one of our required pieces of equipment is an espresso machine (that is worth more than both my and my husband's car put together). We own our own restaurant grade (palace grade) espresso machine. Really what else is there now to attain in life? Sadly, we cannot test run this at our house because it requires special plumbing. Also, the Franchise mother ship would not let me order it in orange (orange not being one of the corporate approved colors for the store) so it is just black. Perhaps I shall call it the Death Star. Actually I have never watched Star Wars so I don't know if that's a bad omen. The point is that it is huge and means business.

Running to Portlandia

We broke down and signed up for the gym. The cheap gym - as noted here ad nauseum it pains me greatly to pay to run.

However. Stupid snow.

So this winter we joined the Bally's. Let's just say that you get what you pay for. My husband went with me last night and asked where they keep the towels. Hahahahaha. Towels. I go to the same treadmill every single time (what else would you expect from someone who eats the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day) and I can assure you that said treadmill has never been cleaned by anyone but me.

(And I can assure you that if anyone else is ever on my treadmill I do not know what I will do with myself.)

Anyway, I have a new favorite time of the day - the time I am on my treadmill watching Portlandia on my iTouch. I think Portlandia might be an acquired taste. I am quite sure my husband, who hates Flight of the Concords with an intense passion (he will leave the room if I am watching it), would not like Portlandia. Here is a great line from Portlandia, "Who puts their dog on a pole like a stripper?" I am running on the treadmill laughing out loud.

Is A Navy Closed Toe Shoe Too Much To Ask

I love me some Tory Burch shoes. Love. They are simply gorgeous. The perfect combination of fun and professional for the office, and the heels aren't those stupid wobbly spiky things. Random men tend to make comments about my footwear when I am wearing my Tory Burch shoes.

However.

First, it's hard to find a pair without that HUGE double T logo that - I'm sorry - looks like a swastika. Did nobody in the logo focus group raise their hand and say, "We are making a big mistake here with this logo." I guess not. Anyway, despite the fact that I love her shoes (and bags) half the product line is out of the question given that terrible logo. I just can't get past it.

Second, I am between a 5.5 and a 6 in her shoes. They don't fit me. So it is with deep regret that I send a pair back today. I thought by some miracle that buying a pair in a different material would make a difference, alas no. Obviously I do realize how obnoxious it is that this is my biggest problem for the day. But you try and find navy closed toe career shoes. (It's snows here. And I don't have a driver. Open toe shoes out of question.)

Timing is Everything

In one of the more unfortunately timed Kate Spade product themes . . . the 2012 Spring cruise ship collection . . .

Too Much For Ten

My ten year old spent the evening with his head in his hands talking about how he spends half of his life trying to avoid his father's long term girlfriend. (I note here that he never complains about have to go back to his dads, so we're not there yet.)

It would take something incredibly egregious for me to believe that my son not living with his father 50% of the time was the right thing to do.

However.

I am quite sure that The Girlfriend is a bad situation. She's caustic and sarcastic and generally unpleasant. I can understand where my son is coming from because still, after 6 years, this woman will not look me in the eye to say hello. We have had one conversation, about 5 years ago, that ended with her throwing a fit (yelling loudly) at me in front of my son's head of school. We have not exchanged a word since - not for lack of my trying. Like I said, she won't acknowledge me. So I imagine someone who can act like that is a bear to live with.

My ex-husband gets iPads from his work, so he gave our son his old iPad. Except he forgot to erase some messages on it. My son brought it to me last night with his eyes wide and on the verge of tears. He found a message from his dad intended for The Girlfriend where he is very angry with The Girlfriend. My son, being the incredibly self-aware little 10 year old that he is, claimed he was upset about it because now he had even less understanding of why his dad kept The Girlfriend. This is all too much for a ten year old.

And what do you do here? The parent in this situaiton is fine - but the other? Not so okay. As my son pointed out, things only get worse if you try to bring this up to either of them.

Take Me Back

Everyone I know is over winter now. Why don't we live in the Keys? Because really, you can have snow, slush, mittens, bloody noses and dry flaky skin . . . or you could have this.

Early Bird

I'm a morning person. I've always known this. In university I got up at 4:00 a.m. to study for my exams. Pretty much for me if it doesn't happen before 10:00 a.m., it's not happening. I am useless for work, errands or even holding much of any intelligent conversation in the evening.

That being said, my alarm had been set for 6:30 for most of these past years and I found it hard to get up. Once I was up, I was fine. But I always wanted a little bit more snooze.

However.

Because I have been so knocked out by this year's flu, getting things done in the morning has been more important than ever. I am certainly not getting anything done after noon. So I have set my alarm for earlier - 5:30 a.m. And do you know what? That's my set point. I pop right out of bed without wanting to hit snooze, awake and ready to go. I sleep great through the night.
Of course, I am in bed and asleep by 9:00. But after all these years I found my perfect awake time. It is a little disturbing that it is 5:30, yet here we are. Morning people are uncool. Night owls are cool. Night people are edgy and know about any good new t.v. Morning people include Martha Stewart, a 5 o'clocker. Oh well. I am what I am.

Franchisee University

My husband and our manager are at Franchisee University.

1. He was talking to someone from the Mother Ship who said he was hired to figure out why the franchisees aren't making any money. Super.

2. One of the franchisees was asking during one of the sessions about what sizes of products we offer. Huh. Just an interesting question at this stage of the game. Perhaps the question in this item 2 causes the result in item 1? Let's go with that.

Three Weeks

I don't know what is happening in your neck of the woods, but here the flu is lasting about three weeks. I haven't been a good blogger lately, I know. I can't remember eve r before a time in my life actually wanting to spend the day in bed, yet here we are.

However.

I have already been out of work too long while the kid was sick. So today I pull my stuff together and try to make it work, but in reality I will stare at a computer screen while I should be in bed. A hard start to the new year.

Read This

Because I've been too flu-ey to do much of anything lately, I've been sitting on the couch going through piles of books and magazines. I just reread Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

I think that book should be required reading. It has changed the way my family eats and the way I think about food altogether. Her chapter on veganism is the most eloquent opinion on the subject I have ever read. Veganism is a touchy subject around our house. More on that some other day.

Also, we have a manager for the store. There's no reason that you, my blog friends, shouldn't enjoy my rapid changes of topic just like my other friends.

Rock Star Things

Three things I couldn't live without right now:

1. My Kendra Scott cuff. On sale at Nordstrom. Makes me feel like a rock star.

2. Safeway brand Theraflu in berry green tea flavor. Also makes me feel like a rock star. Stupid flu.

3. Immersion blender. My son thinks I am a rock star because I froth his Swiss Miss.

Step On This

Getting a divorce was way less trauma than all the literature predicted it would be. There were lots of elements about my situation that made that conclusion possible, but I have never second guessed that decision.

However.

Blending a family with two sets of children from two previous marriages has been more difficult than anything I could have imagined. We failed here. Not so much a stepmother as a stepping stone.

Checking You Out

Here are two of the dolphins checking out the humans. They swim right up when you approach the pod. The Dolphin Research Center really does seem like a lovely place for the dolphins to spend their life.

training a dolphin today

Up All Night, The Reality Show

My son woke up screaming in the middle of the night because of the pain in his throat. I ended up falling back asleep right through the hacking and the crying to find this note:

3:30 a.m.
Dear Mom,
if you wake up and my voice is lost again,
it isn't now. I coughed up a gigantic wad of nosegoop
and my voice is fine. 3 catches:
1 ears a' poppin' occasionally
2 my voice is 2Hz higher
3 I don't feel great

I wish you were awake to hear my beautiful voice
signed
enfermo nino

PS penguin says hello

The Year of The Bug

About a week ago, a group of foreign buggies took up residency in my intestines. Every time I eat I get bad cramps. Having not been able to eat, I have not been able to run. Having not been able to run, I have been grumpy and tired. My friend said the exact same thing happened to her, so I guess it is a bunch of buggies making the rounds.

I sweat like crazy last night, so I was hoping it was the buggies making their grand exit, but here I sit, slowly trying to sip an almond milk latte and my intestines are going ARE YOU FRIGGIN' CRAZY. It has been far too long since I have eaten and as a result of this vicious cycle I am still looking at a Christmas tree and a house that is a disaster.

Anyway, Happy New Year. For me, I am hoping to start the New Year later this week when my son and I head to The Keys. His big Christmas present this year was that I arranged for him to be a dolphin trainer for a day.