Garage Door Opener

We live in a house that was built in 1946 and while many things have been updated through the years, no one ever installed a garage door opener. We bought the house last spring and a nice selling point was the barn out back...meaning the garage could be used for its intended purpose.

My husband was kind enough to purchase a garage door opener for me for Mother's Day. He got it unpacked and there it stayed. In August in (be prepared for some honesty here) a fit of guilt-inducement, I spent the better part of a day assembling it. And there it stayed. Well, on Monday morning my husband said he was going to attempt to finish the installation. He did it! He did have to cut into the ceiling/floor of the attic to make room for the entire apparatus, but it works. Thank you honey.

Well, kind of. We can pull in the garage, but we can't open the doors to get out of the car. We can move some built in cabinetry to make space, but that might take a few more months.

You're Fired

I hate hate hate hate hate this part of my job. I am usually very picky about who I hire, because I don't ever want to get to the point where I have to fire. Today, however, I did.

I've worked in management of either someone else's business or my own for 8 years. I've only had to fire 5 people. My favorite was Mr. X (names changed to protect my backside). When he arrived at work on that fateful day I asked him to come in my office for a moment. He said (before even coming in) "Am I fired?" I said yes handed him his check and he walked out.

The worst was a woman about 2 years ago....Ms. B. She cried, begged, yelled, everything you dread when you go in for a conversation like that. About a week later she sent a scathing letter to me about how I was the worst boss ever...totally unreasonable in my expectations of her. Since she stormed out, she eventually had to come back for her stuff. It was mostly kitchy junk, but she felt she needed it. She barely spoke a word. Walked in with a box, packed it up, and walked out. The only exchange was her asking if I had found a replacement yet. I had hired a fresh-out-of-college energetic young woman (more or less the opposite of the original) who was right next to me at the time, so I introduced them. That's when she left.

Today's experience was better than expected. It went as well as it could have and I think we both left the conversation looking forward to our respective futures. God has been faithful to me and to my business. His hand has been apparent every step of the way. However in situations like this, I am always fearful of the testimony I present. I am taking away someone's livlihood. More on this soon....but I need to see how the next few days play out in order to know.

This is not a joke!

I am on the computer all the time. Generally I am immune to banner ads, but this one caught my eye. This could be a SNL commercial, but it's real! Worse...if I had an indoor cat...I could see myself buying it.

To upload a profile picture....

I am not photogenic. Not one teensy bit. This isn't even just my id talking, this is truth. I cannot look like myself in a photo. Fake smile, fake head-holding, fake stance. Well a few months back I was teaching my son how to use the camera and he managed to take a decent picture...of me. Not just me, but me while not posing...fakely....next to a snot-dripping child. This was an enormous accomplishment. So I now have a picture for these web pages where there is a place to put YOUR PROFILE PICTURE. So, I posted it on Facebook, my seldom visited, not really sure why I even have a profile there, trial run. No negative comments, similar posts from old friends. OK, good. Next came MySpace. Amazing, positive feedback on the photo. Even a "you're so beautiful" from an emotive former employee. That's good. Then I got this comment from my age 14-16 best friend--

You sat down to take a 'grown up' picture to share with your friends. A 'just Melinda' picture, if you will. But somehow ... sooooooomehow, a baby hand snuck into the frame. :) A sign of a good mom is that her babies are never far from her side. You look beautiful, Melinda!

Yes, there it is on the right. My daughter's hand with a little pink teddy bear. Oh well. I still like the picture.

Support my friend.

So my friend Becky is pursuing turning her photography hobby into a career. She just created a web page where you can view and purchase her art. You can also check her work out here. She has a good eye for nature and has managed to create "inspirational" art that people from our generation would be happy to display in their homes. This one is my favorite. So good luck Becky. Our prayers are with you in your new venture.

Sleeping With Men

Let me just start by clarifying that I am actually talking about sleeping, or rather not being able to sleep. While I have fairly narrow personal experience (read one(1)) with men, my informal polling (read chatting with my friends) has revealed that when a woman can't sleep, her man has no pity.

It doesn't matter if I am sick, stressed, too hot, too cold, too whatever...he just isn't going to interrupt his sleep to commiserate with me. The attitude is "why should my perfectly cozy, Serta-inspired evening be interrupted just because you can't sleep?" Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting full 100% alertness, just some concern.

By no means am I the newest reincarnation of June Cleaver, but when roles are reversed, I feel that I, and women in general, are more considerate. We will make the offer to get something to drink, another blanket, cough medicine--whatever is needed. So please honey, next time I am tossing and turning at 2am, recognize it as an opportunity to surprise me with your reaction.