Just Another Day at the Office

Hydrangeas

Since I have been out of the office for 3 working days, I had quite a few emails to make my way through yesterday. It seemed like the day went by really fast. We are always busy. Bill, our dean, was telling me about some of the changes he would like to make this year in Outreach. He is a visionary, so what he is forming as an idea will evolve. So, we will see what exactly those changes might be once we hire the new director. He would like us to work together with our new Welcome Center staff. We would have more opportunities if we did something like that. It would just take some coordinating... but then, that is what we do. It is our main job skill.

I was able to see Renee at lunch again with Mackenzie, her baby daughter. Mackenzie is only 11 weeks old and she will smile at me when I am joking with her. She finds me funny even at this young age. I will try to get a picture of the baby next time, now that she is smiling and not sleeping all the time.

Last night, I met Dave at the rental house where our renters moved out. We have already found other renters which will be moving in soon, however there is always painting and maintenance to do. I am learning to help out more in that area. I put on the stain/ seal on the deck in the back. I guess I could count that as exercise. Dave has been really working hard painting, mowing, cleaning moss of the roof etc. I brought home some of the Hydrangeas from the backyard to put in vases. They are the most perfect powder blue. Below are some pictures of the ones I cut. The picture doesn't show the tinge of purple it has in some of the blossoms.

I will have another education fair in Bellevue today. Plus, I haven't seen the boys for the last few nights. I will have Riley tonight. I will go into work late tomorrow because we have to be out late on Friday night setting up the canopy for the fair again.

Regarding my question from yesterday, Judy gave me her tips of how she manages her time. One of her best tools is to make lists. I make lists too. I keep post notes in business... the ones with lines. I have one tablet in the car, at my desk at work, and near my bed. When I think of something that should be done, I make sure to write it down (so I don't forget it). If it is on a list, it is more liking to get done, instead of waiting around for me to think of it again. Another thing that keeps me sane... well, as sane as I can be... are routines. Routines... are lists you memorized. :-)

Let's Talk...

Let's Talk...

OK... Right now, a cup of coffee doesn't look inviting because it has turned warm around here. I know that I was talking about rain last week but things change quickly around here. Now it is in the 80's - 90's and we are back "on" with summer.

This is the day that a create a short post and ask a question... usually something that I have been thinking about in my busy life. This is also one way that I can catch up on my posts... a way to manage time.

That brings me to the topic today. In our busy lives, what are your tips for managing your time? Do you think you are good at it? Or do you think you could do better?

Leave me your thoughts and I will respond. Have a great day!

Verizon and Auburn Good Ole Days VIP Night

Tonight Lindsey and I went to the Auburn Good Ol' Days VIP Night at the Emerald Downs. Do you remember? That is were I went last winter to do judging for the DECA and FBLA competitions. I have been there a couple of times for the horses... but not usually. It was an interesting and entertaining night with meeting a city council person (lady), hearing Miss Auburn sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and listening to a storyteller/ author read from his book who lives in Auburn. I remember many times when living in So California wishing that I could experience what it would be like to be a member of a small town. I do get that opportunity in moments like this one.

Auburn Good Ol' Days is Auburn's summer festival. So far we have attended Maple Valley, Kent, Covington, Renton... and now Auburn's festival. With "Festival Latino" and "Kid's Day" thrown in there for good measure. After this one we will attend the Puyallup Fair in September and then we will be done with the summer fairs for this year. We will actually have three consecutive weekends (all three day for me) which we call "our summer" after the Auburn Good Ol' Days.

Today I also was in Bellevue (again) at a the Verizon Education Fair. They are one of the employers in the area that offers education assistance to their employees (even part time employees). They pay well, offer benefits and vacation from day one. Once you learn the information in the company, you can move anywhere in the company where you fit best. As you can see, I am very impressed with this company and would suggest employment there to anyone looking for a position. They are all over the USA and probably the world.

"Slumming In Bellevue"

Day Trip to Bellevue

Renee and I decided a while ago that it would be fun to go to Bellevue, WA to their Goodwill to shop. Bellevue is the 8th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington according to Wikipedia. So, the donations centers could be very interesting.

Today was one of my Mondays off. So, we met and took off together to Bellevue. Half way there we discovered that we both thought the other one knew where we were going. Funny thing because of our connections, we both thought that the other knew something. Thank Goodness we both have the internet on our phone. We were able to figure out exactly where to find a "Donation Center" for Goodwill.

I noticed right away that they had a better selection of quality furniture. They also had a very large area of used books where I was able to find 3 Weight Watcher recipe books with the old exchange program in them so one could know exactly what proteins, milk, fat, veggies, fruit, and breads one would count.

A Leather Jacket for Riley

I was also able to find Riley a nice, hardly used leather jacket for $7.99. It will be really nice to have when the weather turns cooler around here. Plus, it is good for being in the rain. I just bought both the boys some rain jackets too the other day. But there are levels of rain and cold around here. This will be great when it is really rainy and really cold around November where the other rain jackets will only be good for the early fall and for spring.

I also found a Columbia shirt for Dave and a jacket for me. They had some really great name brand purses and shoes there, as you could imagine. Renee really loves purses, to the point she would like to design a purse herself.

Afterwards we were able to see Trina that works at the community college there. She does our job for Bellevue Community College... so she is a "sister" too. We went to Thai Kitchen for Orange Chicken and we were able to catch up on some news. Unfortunately, Trina had to go back to work as we kept on our "day off".

Renee will be interviewing for a job on August 18th in Ellensburg, WA. She wants me to go with her for the day while she interviews to help her prepare and keep her nerves down. If you are a praying women, please pray for her interview and her nerves. I personally think she will do great because I have seen her interview, but prayer never hurts. Right?

Sunday

It is a nice warm day here in Seattle. Off to church and then off for a country drive.

Have a great day!