Popping In

I actually came by to delete the blogs, but am apparently not ready. I would not delete without contacting those of you I still think of fondly-I'm not that kind of girl.

Life has progressed. I'm working in a day job now, and that leaves time for my dogs and looking after my folks a bit. Not like I'd like to (for either dogs or folks) but somebody has to pay the bills and I suppose it's me.

This morning I took a much needed sleep in a bit/drink coffee break-but even that has to be punctuated with chores. Laundry must be done, dishes washed, and things sorted out for the week ahead. But I'm at least trying to do it in a relaxed manner, and I"m also vowing not to reach the end of the day and chide myself for wasting time.

I went from not working to knocking down 60 plus hours a week for awhile and that is not how I would recomend doing it. I'm trying to tip the balance back to a sedate 45-50 as a general rule and save the 60's for extreme circumstances. I took the job in part because it would be a challenge, and I'm delighted at how many skills I've acquired during my time off.

Accounting is the same, computers are the same-but working with my dogs and working with my old folks has given me a whole new insight on how to manage the people side of things. In training-we "proof" our dogs against certain stimulus-and I have passed the proof test for one of my achilles heals; namely, the "I will do it" sydnrome. I now realize the answer to all a job's issues is not "Deb will do it" and I'm really good about saying "yes, I will, what would you like me to set aside in order to accomodate this request?"

I honestly think my brain is happier working both sides of it now, and my body is getting a better work out too-so sometimes a little more is better. The more I have to do, the more I get done. The trick is knowing what you have to do and what you can let slide.

Another mind trick I am working on is not apologizing for what I let slide, unless it negatively impacts someone else.

These are all things I've learned from working with my amazing dogs, who are the best counselors on the planet.

I am going to make it a point to pop in once a week just to write. I'm not going to mess with trying to update and instead just do this-train of thought for the moment I log in. Actually, that is probably more telling than writing down a list of current events.....buahahaahaaaaaa.