Company Dinner

Last night my company had it’s quarterly division meeting. It was typical in just about every way, but it did interrupt my ability to post last night. The usual food, slide show, and goals highlighted the gala event. Afterwards we spent some time at the water street cafe in Stonington. It's always fun to go out with colleagues. They typically let their guard down during these events and there is always an HR breach someplace. Luckily, I wasn’t witness to any, but based on the "conservation of personality rule", I'm certain it did. (I’ll explain the conservation of personality another time, but one of it’s tenets is that “there’s always one of those people in a crowd”. Fill in your “those people-types here”)

As for my late posting, I did state that it wasn’t possible for me to be 100% on a daily basis (for you purists) however I did take a photo to fill the void the day before... which meets my own type-B blogging satisfaction... so nah.

Tonight my parents arrive in preparations for Connor's birthday party. It will be late, and I don’t expect to post a shot of them arriving, but if they get there before I turn into a pumpkin, I'll be waiting at he door ready to reveal their exhausted faces :)

FIRE!!! SMOKE!! Drama...

Last night was a just a ripper. First my parents arrived around 9pm, and Ryan popped down from his bed to say "Hi". (I swear, I'm never telling him again about anyone coming after he's asleep.) Then, we stayed up late to watch the fiesta bowl and decided at 11:00, that we really weren't all night partiers anymore. So after stoking the fire a bit, we went to bed. (this is where the interesting part happens) At 4:30am, the smoke detectors go off. BEEP BEEP BEEP... Adults run amuck to find the source of the fire, and the children actually stay asleep. (NOTE: If I opened a frozen yogurt at 4:30am , in a soundproof room, in the basement, Connor would at least stir and mumble "yo-get", but a blaring fire alarm... nothing but snores.) I look... No smoke, no fire... no sign of fire or smoke anywhere(no hot walls, basement, attic, garage are all cold but smoke free), outside of the house looks nice... no real appreciable smoke from the chimney! I'm relieved but frustrated, and go back to bed..... until.... yes... at 5:30am BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. *sigh

So we decide to call the local authorities to check on my home in the morning. They arrive at 9 -- Nothing. Checked the house with heat detectors, smoke detectors, CO detectors, and thermal imaging. Nada.

Conclusion: "replace your batteries and blow out the smoke detectors, if that doesn't work... replace them all."

Anyone know where I can get good fire insurance?

-M

Blog Fury

Well... it seems this has caught on, due to my Mom's enthusiasm. I must admit, she can really get people excited about something when she wants to. I am always surprised by how infectious she is! :) Anyway... I added Lise as a contributor to my Blog and made an entry on my parent's space. It would be cool if we got the whole family posting. I know how competitive we are with each other... I can only image the flurry of blog entries about to be unleashed on the world. :)

OK... So now, I'm going to put my computer away and take some meds and maybe take look through my magazines to see if I can come up with another way to add on to my house that I can't afford. :)

Christmas break musings.

We're almost finished with Christmas. It's like the holiday that never ends. I like it because I get to see family and friends that I don't normally get an opportunity to see, however, I get so exhausted in the process that I feel happy to be back at home for a day or two after the visitation is over. :)

Here are the pictures so far....




Today we have some more friends stopping by and tomorrow I am going to start installing hardwood floors in Ryan's room if this cold I have brewing doesn't overcome me in the morning.

This year, I completed a kitchen renovation that took about 5 days of time, and with the help of my family, we completely gutted and replaced my kitchen. It was hard work, but I loved the results:

Kitchen Renovation

I have since installed new flooring into my bedroom and my brother-in-law helped me install some recessed lighting in our living room. Next will be Ryan's and Connor's rooms along with gutting the three bathrooms. (eek) Lise and I are excited about the transformation, but we have to get some trim work completed and a few weekend projects done before we can get our teeth into the baths. Who knows, maybe I'll changes jobs and work as a carpenter like my grandfather.

Ok.. back to more house cleaning and getting Connor to go to sleep. If anyone knows anything I leagally do to make an overtired 3 year old take a nap, I'd be interested.