Artfully Inspired

The art festival was marvelous! I found this whimsical painting and just had to have it. I love how these ladies are having so much fun. Of course, this photo doesn't do it justice. It has found a new home in my guest bedroom.
It also inspired me to finally hang these. (Thank you, Lacy!)

And these... (Thank you, again, Lacy!)

Guess who I bought this for? Yep and he will love it!

And these cuties are for Mema!

The festival had such beautiful and creative items. I can't wait to go again in October!

Great Day for Some Art

The day looks like this:
So we are going here:

Have a great Saturday!

Thank you, Leisa!

When Leisa and I travelled to San Jose in January to surprise Lacy for her birthday, Leisa was very prepared and had packed a couple of books to occupy her time on the 4 hour flight to and fro. I am a sporadic reader. I will read voraciously for a while and then won't read again for months or even years. In the past, I have favored biographies, self-help books, and the occasional love story.

Leisa wanted a new book for her trip home. She had either finished the ones she had or was craving something different. So, we took a field trip to the book store prior to departing. I decided to join the band wagon and bought a couple of books for myself. Not really knowing whether or not I would actually read them. To my surprise, I began reading one of the books on the plane. I don't recall which one. I do know that it was a fiction book. It grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. I read non-stop to the end of the book and LOVED IT!

Since then, I have read 3 - 4 books a week. During my peaceful evenings and every other Friday off, I have joined the worlds of Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and a few others. My imagination has felt the ocean winds off the eastern coastline, seen the beautiful hills set in northern California, felt the tension of a mom watching her child go on trial for murder, and much more. I have fallen in love with my books!

Last week, Kelley put together this bookcase for me. My old one was full and my books were beginning to pile up. In Lacy's Blog, she asks, "What is your favorite spot in your home?" Right at this moment, I would have to say this book case. While I don't sit near it to read or even use this room right now as a reading room, this bookcase makes me smile. I've thumbed through the books, looked at the titles and covers, only to reminisce about their contents. Feels like sweet memories of my past. I am excited to see what other titles and authors will fill it's shelves.
I can only thank my sister for re-lighting a fire in me that I thought had burned out. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have begun to experience reading in a new way. Thank you, Leisa! Thank you for reminding me that reading can bring a whole new world to your life!

Good Freakin' Grief!!!

Warning: This might be a little long and boring.. but I need to get it out.

I don't currently sit with my team at work. When I was hired on, they didn't have space. So, I was placed down the hall and told my space was temporary. "No big deal. That's fine. Just glad to be here.. yada yada yada" Then, another young lady was hired with whom I have become friends. She does sit with the team but in a very sub-par desk which was never meant to be an office workspace.

Fast forward about 3 or 4 months, I was "kicked out" of my office because it belonged to another department and they needed it. I was moved to the opposite end of the hall. "No big deal. That's fine. Just glad to be here.. yada yada yada"

My boss then decides that it's time for us to sit all together. There are about 12 of us on the team. But, my boss only manages 4 of the 12. So, we contact the appropriate people and discuss our move options. Everything set, and guess who is told to be the "Move Coordinator." Good guess.. ME!!! "No big deal. That's fine. Just glad to be here.. yada yada yada"

So, at the beginning of February, my boss and I wonder over to our new location. He promptly chooses his seat and then begins to assign seats to each of us (the ones he manages). He then instructs me to meet with the remaining 8 team members and find out where they want to sit. Mind you, he has assigned out all of the so-called premier seating to us. Another minor fact - all of the remaining team members are either managers or have been with the company for a lifetime.. literally like 30 years each.

Instead of following my boss's instruction, I promptly consult with the woman who did the last move. "How did you handle this? Where would you put everyone?" Ever so the fair one.. I know I'm not going to get this right. She assigns all of the remaining window seats to the most tenured and then fills in the other seats based on who works with who. I proceed to advise everyone of their new seat assignments. I get a few questions here and there. But, overall, no one raises a stink. Needless to say, I am quite proud of myself.

Fast forward to this week...the move is set. All of the appropriate departments have been notified - IT, Furniture and Spacing, etc. I am still glowing with pride that this has all gone smoothly. Until the bitch from hell all of sudden decides that her seat is not satisfactory and she was never given a choice of seats. Yep.. two days before we move, she is in my face telling me how angry she is and how this whole thing has been unfair. (Ok.. deep breath.) I don't do well with people aggressively approaching me. When she isn't satisfied with my answers, she proceeds to call her boss, my boss, and my boss's boss. If you could picture a 30 year old kicking and screaming like a 2 yr old who can't have the candy in the checkout line of the grocery store, then you have a pretty good picture of her antics.

All of the bosses scramble to see how they can make her (bitch from hell) happy. They end up moving 2 people from a window seat and another from her workstation in order to accommodate this one bitch from hell. Ok.. whew... it's over.. we can get back to business at hand...life is good again. NOT!!!! The 2 people that were moved from their window seats are now mad and while they aren't kicking and screaming, they sound just as whiny as the same kid who has just begun saying.."but MMOOOMM can I plllleeeaassee have the skittles." This then prompts one ex-window seat person to tell me that he should really have my spot because "blah blah blah blah."
"No big deal. That's fine. Just glad to be here.. yada yada yada" My so-called premier spot has now slipped through my hands at the Nth hour.

"No big deal. That's fine. Just glad to be here.. yada yada yada" Honestly folks... I AM MAD AS HELL!!! Is it the spot forfeiture that has pissed me off???? No, it's the mere fact that one woman can throw a fit and get her way at the expense of 4 other people on the team. This company prides itself on core values such as Integrity, Honesty, Relationships and others. All that I have seen this week is anything but these values. I am appalled! I am mad!!! I am shocked! May bitch from hell get hers in the end!!!

LOL - But I still like my job.