Shifting into Annual Overdrive

I am always amazed when I hit this time of year how things pick up in my schedule.  It is almost as if someone hits that fast forward button on the remote control on February 1 and the scenes just start picking up speed.  Leading up to the holidays is madness, the holidays are madness, then we hit a time in January when things almost seem to go in slow motion.  Maybe it's the cold, dark, winter days or maybe it's just the post holiday decompression.  Either way, I have a love/hate relationship with the month of January. I don't enjoy it all while in it but once my pace picks up I long for a quiet, cold day with nothing to do.  But, here we are so let's get moving....

I am happy to report that we survived the 100th day of school as well as Valentine's Day.  My proposal for the 100th day poster was accepted with a few modifications.  Final exhibit below - held by a very pleased client.  I'm thinking about asking him to be a reference for future business.  

Our little guy was thrilled and very proud to reach his 100th day.  I say any reason for a party is a good one.  This also means we are more than 1/2 way through the school year which is another crazy phenomenon.  

On to our Valentine challenge which is a challenge indeed given our school does not permit any food or candy in our valentines.  This is a rule that actually bums me out.  A fond memory I have of my childhood is constructing my actual Valentine box, decorating it complete with the little slit for my friends to insert their cards.  I can still smell the scent of Juicy Fruit gum coupled with cardboard that would be released upon opening up my Valentine box when I got home.  Now I get that kids don't need candy every day but, like everything, moderation is key.  Unfortunately our world has become anything but moderate so here we are...valentines with no tasty treat.  

Brandon helped me make his monster magnets and Cameron assisted with the message on his festive bookmarks.  The original message was "You're TOAD-ally awesome, Valentine".  A very conscious 9 year old reminded me that he would actually be giving these to "girls" and didn't want anyone to be misguided...you see where this is going.  SO, we modified the message just to make sure no one got the wrong idea.  Initial feedback is that the message appeared to be safe.  

I was in Dallas for three days last week for my National Sales Meeting, along with 700 of my closest friends.  It's amazing how large this event has become.  When I first attended this conference in 1997 there were less than 100 attendees.  Part of me, ok most of me, longs for the good old days where you could see and spend time with everyone and didn't run the risk of milling around a crowd and possibly never laying eyes on someone you actually would enjoy seeing.  But, even though the size is overwhelming, I managed to pull some positive things from the event.  And it's always good to see the people that I now only see at this annual event.  Following an intense three days I always ask the question, will I really be here again next year for this event?  And if the answer is yes, how will things be different?  Where did I file that crystal ball?

Jim and I spent the long weekend in Florida getting our new rental property prepared for the spring season.  This has been a fun side business but one that can become overwhelming if we let it.  Thankfully Jim does all of the business stuff to keep us going and I get to do things like show up and pick out dishes, utensils, coffee pots and linens.  We raced around to every major house and home retailer in the greater Orlando area and were quite successful.  Probably the funniest, and most encouraging, event occurred at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  After dividing and conquering we met up only to see that we had both selected the same set of red rubber kitchen spatulas and same wine opener without discussing purchasing either.  It was almost creepy, but we both felt a little closer to each other and perhaps got the validation we needed that this is a good project for us after all.  We got a good laugh, returned one set, and went about our shopping.

Now we just need renters....let the direct marketing begin and may 2013 be the year everyone wants to travel to Orlando!

On top of all of this we have our ongoing bathroom overhaul going on.  As I finish writing this I now realize why I feel exhausted and overwhelmed.  The walls of our bedroom appear to be closing in as our belongings somehow seem to be expanding in their temporary locations.  I can't wait until we have more space than we know what do do with....unfortunately it isn't a speedy process.

Best part of yesterday, took President's Day off and hung out with the boys.  Never did Red Robin for lunch and painting pottery for a couple hours in the afternoon feel so good.  I need to do that more often (note to self).

Deep breath....carry on.