My Parents Are Sooo Sweet!

To my surprise today, I received flowers delivered to my office...lo and behold...they're from my parents! Actually, when I saw the flowers, I kinda already knew who they were from as this wasn't the first time my parents have sent flowers to me for my birthday. They had sent me flowers when I was in Hinton as at that point in time, Mom had indicated to me that she missed me and wished she and Dad could celebrate my birthday with me.

How sweet is that?

Traditional Ukrainian Perogy Supper

I felt so special when one of my member's called me up specifically to attend their first perogy supper of the year. They wanted me to go see the new edition to the church (which I assisted by approving financing) as well as to join them for supper. This was on Friday.

Seeing as how I have absolutely NO Ukrainian blood in me, I wasn't sure what the protocol was. I checked around my office and they said generally it's very informal...you show up, and then you leave. That's it. I figured it was low key enough I could handle it (and one of my coworkers said she'd go with me). This made it a little less intimidating for me.

I arrive at the church shortly after 4:30pm and there are already several people chowing down. Now you have to understand, this church has a pretty old c0ngregation...but that I mean if you're 52 (which one of my coworkers is and he so happens to attend this church), you're considered YOUNG! Haha...anyways...I show up there and look for familiar faces.

I finally find one of the guys that was in charge of the construction of the new addition to the church. He asks if I want to eat first or take the tour first...but without letting me even answer, he takes me on the tour first...okay then...

You should've seen the pride in the faces of the leaders of the church that were showing me around! It was sooo awesome as these guys that were showing me around, they actually helped start the church in the 1950's. It was great to see someone so proud of their premises, to the point where they even showed me their new furnace room!

Anyways, long story short, the visit went well and I had my first HOME MADE perogy supper as a church function! They were soooo good...seriously, thank goodness I wasn't born Ukrainian otherwise I'd be one fat Ukrainian lady! I felt honored that they'd even think about inviting me, the banker...yes they must like me! Haha, but being liked isn't always a good thing...they've already told me when they do their grand opening/unveiling in June I will be invited along with some other "dignitaries" such as the Mayor as well as people from the Alberta government. Great...at least I'll be able to drag my coworker with me to keep me company (they told her to come with me)!

This housekeeper I have...she's no good! :)

In case you didn't know...I have a housekeeper...her name is Vanilla. She doesn't really do a good job in tending to 'home related things' such as cooking, cleaning, ironing, laundry or anything that's chore related.

I just found out today that I know more than 1 person/family that has a maid or 'hired help' to come tidy around their homes on a semi-regular basis. I have thought about it a bit in the past...hiring someone to come once every 2 weeks or so would be soooo good, but then I really start thinking...

Let's assume $15/hour is the going rate and assuming each time the hired help needs 3.5 hours to tidy up (my place is not the neatest of places, but then again I don't live in sty either), this would equate to $52.50 for services rendered. And having this hired help come every other week, it would cost $105 on a monthly basis.

This seems to be a pretty good alternative to have your place cleaned on a regular basis, but with $105 I could be spending this money in other worthwhile ways...for example, I sponsor a Hope Child through World Canada. This means all children through this sponsorship program have in one way or another been effected by AIDS (whether it be their friends, family, etc.). At $40/month, this provides the child with a better quality of life (food, education, health vaccinations, etc.). With this $105/month, I could sponser an additional 2 children.

Or I could donate this sum to an inner city elementary school on a monthly basis so that some kids that don't have lunches could enjoy a warm lunch on a more frequent basis.

I guess there's a ton of different organizations that would benefit from this donation so...no matter how many times I want to try to justify hiring help, I can't bring myself to do it. So with that being said...I gotta go dry my laundry now :(

~DISCLAIMER~ I am in no way judging or critizing those that do have the privilege of hiring help. I'm more than anything--envious--of your decision! This post was not written to offend!

What a week!

This week just whizzed right by me, leaving me standing there in the dust! It was so incredibly busy, I don't even know how to begin describing what happened this week, but here goes...

I work within a small team comprised of a Team Leader (TL), two Senior Account Managers (SAM)--of which one is part time and the other full time and myself. The PT SAM has been on a leave of absence as her husband was initially diagnosed with menengitis and then he suffered a stroke (all our prayers are with her and her family). She has been off work since the early part of November and as such we've all had to carry a bit more of her workload, not a problem.

Then the other SAM went on holidays this week (thankfully only for a week) but was much deserved. She too has been having some problems with her family (her husband has been struggling with being bi-polar and her uncontrollable daughter one day called her at work to tell her she'd HAD a baby (the crazy part is that the daughter lived at home and nobody even noticed she was pregnant...she hid it well)! So between all these things, this SAM has been extremely stressed out, having to deal with this bi-polar situation since Christmas 2004 and then having to support her daughter and new granddaughter since the latter half of 2005.

Anyways, this week would've been just fine except for the fact that my TL was away sick for 3.5 of the 5 working days this week! So that led me to handle their portfolios along with my own (totaling roughly 500 members)! Now to some of you doctors out there, 500 is probably a really small number, however, in the banking world it's huge (especially since you're having to deal with issues of overdrafts and the like). Plus on top of all this, I had to ensure any referrals from our Contact Centre were also tended to.

Then this week we had our 4th(?) annual member appreciation reception at the Royal Glenora. That was nice but really time consuming (after a day at work, we had to attend this thing that lasted until 830 pm or so). That was nice, until I ran into my "stalker" from many moons ago, but that's another story ;)

I then tried to donate blood on Thursday, but was denied because my iron levels were too low (although the nurse assured me that it was 'normal'?). Shoot, now I have to wait another full cycle (56 days) before I am eligible to try again.

Then last night I went with KEY and our very own "Martha Stewart" to shop for our hot pot evening tonight. It was absolute insanity in T&T...one would've thought everything was free or something as the line ups were absolutely crazy! In total we spent a little over 2 hours there...nutty...!

So that's been my week in a nutshell. As much as I whine and complain about being too busy and stuff, I really am thankful that I am busy (haha, am gainfully employed) and that I have great friends, healthy family and friends and am getting my walk back on track spiritually with God, what more can I ask for as the year of the Dog approaches?

Gong hay fat choy to you all!

Could it get any worse???

Hmmm, they (the superstitious) say bad things happen in three's. Is there truth to it?

First, my performance appraisal was due at the beginning of December. Due to holidays and the like, I didn't submit it until the new year. So I was already 1 month late with it, but that's not so bad given there have been others that were due from before that only was submitted recently. Fine...so just today my immediate supervisor tells me that he submitted my report to the big boss man to sign off on and to determine my raise percentage. My supervisor pulls me aside and asks if the big boss man had yet spoken to me yet...that kinda got me concerned. I said he hadn't and then he goes on to tell me that the big boss man is reluctant to give me another raise as I only received one 6 months ago! Thank goodness my supervisor had the guts to stick up for me and and to remind my big boss that it was requested byHR that I submit my annual performance review and that the previous review conducted in June was for my probationary period that led to my promotion. So the big boss man reluctantly agreed to review my PA. Sheesh...if I were a slacker that would be one thing, but seeing as how my immediate supervisor actually gave me an even better PA report than the one that was submitted for my previous promotion, I don't understand why my big boss was so grouchy about having to review my PA! And besides, my raise doesn't affect his pocket book, so what's the deal???

Secondly, coming home after a long day at work (it's been quite busy all week), I get stuck waiting for the stupid train to cross. That was more of an irritant than bad luck.

Lastly, as I sat there waiting for the train to cross, I hear this thud and it kinda came from no where...sounded like someone had thrown something on my windshield. I quickly checked and at first didn't see anything, but it was only after I started moving again did I see this HUGE crack across the bottom of my windshield!!! It's not like a couple inches long--the crack extends pretty much from one end of the windshield to the other. I know this is a result of a chip I inherited from a previous commute drive to work from a while ago. I think the combination of the cold air and the chip contributed to the crack. I might as well let it keep cracking until it obstructs my view before I get it replaced. Thankfully I think I'll be able to make it through until at least spring. Funny, the 2 cracks I have in my windshield are a result of commuting to work. I had no such 'bad luck' in the previous 3 years that I traveled the highways...

There you have it...does bad luck come in three's??? You decide.

Time to shape up, spiritually!

Remember how I said I was going to go for walks everyday during my noon hour??? So far it's lasted 1 week, and that's about it!!! I have found myself missing my daily walk due to prolonged meetings in the morning and as well in the early afternoons. With so much time spent in these meetings, my days have been completely shot as a result of these scheduled interruptions. I find myself lost in phone calls and with emails piling up in my inbox.

But after meeting with my small (*AWESOME*) ladies group this evening and reflecting on my spiritual walk, I find myself reflecting on the fact that I have not been prioritizing my efforts properly. We did this excercise (which Dr. D led) whereby we had to chart our spiritual journey thus far. I found my chart to be freakishly similar to that of Wacky's (which was of course completed independently of each other) in that my walk peaked during specific periods and dropped off during other times. We each took turns sharing personal and private thoughts with regards to our respective spiritual walks and it turns out even though we're each on a different paths, we all share one common thing, and that is to improve our walks and to keep each other accountable.

Where am I going with all this you might ask??? I really have no excuse for not spending more time doing devotions and the like as I have been blessed many times over with my carreer being well on track, I have a house in which I can call my own and a great group of friends and of course my family that are a great support system for me...but this evening I'm reminded that there must be certain priorities that must take precedence over other things. Why am I so concerned about returning calls and making sure the little envelope icon does not appear on my desktop and going for my noon hour walk, but it's not a big deal if I don't get around to doing regular devotions and spending time in prayer?

Someone slap me silly as obviously I have everything backwards!!! 2006 is my time to get into shape, both physically as well as spiritually! I would hope that others around me will continue to encourage and keep me accountable...I will reciprocate in return!

Mexico, here I come (well, soon anyways)!

After throwing the idea around of traveling again this year, I actually booked a trip this evening. A girlfriend of mine and I will be heading to Mazatlan in the early part of May! I'm sooooo looking forward to this trip.

We've only booked our flight and accomodations to date and will wait until we arrive in Mazatlan before we book any tours and the like. We're staying at a four star hotel (keeping in mind this is Mexico after all), which is quite nice. But the only part I'm not looking forward to already is the layovers...not just one, but two of them! That's probably why our trip is relatively affordable :)

We fly from Edmonton into Seattle, and from Seattle to LA and from LA into Mazatlan. Talk about losing precious time from just traveling! However, our plan is to check our bags into the Seattle airport and then take the evening to sightsee around Seattle. On our way back, we'll be doing the same in LA.

I'm sooooooo looking forward to this trip, but now the real planning begins...things to do before I get to Mazatlan;

1. Find at least another bathing suit (this whole process does not appeal to me at all!)
2. Lose some weight
3. Research what there is to do in Mazatlan (thank goodness for AMA!)
4. Figure out how to spend out time wisely during our layovers in order to maximize on our trip (I guess this involves a bit of research into Seattle and LA)
5. Remember to pack only the important stuff (in case I go crazy and load up on souveniers)!
6. Get my Hep A and B shots (must book appointment soon)

Hmmm...have I forgotten anything?