More in eFat Boy's Belly

Today - ranch dressing off a plate, ignored the broccoli
This weekend - clawed at a bag of tortilla chips underneath the pantry door; succeeded in shredding the bag, yet getting no chips

First attempt...

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Originally uploaded by Tracy T

Ok, so this is/was my first attempt at sewing clothing, namely baby clothing. I could say that I fought the sewing pattern and the pattern won. It was a good fight, as you can see, because it resembles a piece of clothing...
I guess reading sewing patterns is a learning experience. At least I hope so, because future attempts - if I don't get better - are going to make me cry!

Fat Boy's Belly

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Originally uploaded by Tracy T

I don't think I've spoken about Fat Boy on here. Originally named Honey, before we knew his gender, Fat Boy Bitty Bee is our house cat. He joined our family before Aiden did - in May of 2000.
Fat Boy is a good cat regardless of what Shane tries to claim. He adores me and lays on my lap when he's not patrolling the house for food. Being a bulimic cat, he binges and purges regularly (although I'm not sure it's bulimia if he then eats his puke, but I digress...). Because of this I only feed him once a day. Maybe twice if I'm feeling generous. Even then I have to keep the feeding to a minimum or he'll barf everywhere.
Due to this constant need to binge, Fat Boy will eat *anything* we happen to leave or out availabe. Thus comes this and future entries called, "Fat Boy's Belly."

Today, strawberry mini-muffin.
Yesterday, cheap corn tortilla chips from the gas station.

I like fishing

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Originally uploaded by Tracy T

Although you can't tell in this picture, I've really come to like fishing. In the beginning it was just the chance to relax and drink a lot of beer. But since then it's grown into a way to enjoy something basic that we can all do without much effort. Shane is great at fishing and full of knowledge on the subject. Aiden enjoys it too and will hopefully remember our trips on the boat for the rest of his life.

It also give us great opportunities to take pictures! :D

Talk *to* employees not AT them.

Ok, another note for myself if I ever get this degree and become something similar to a manager.

From my OB book: "Managers must explain the reasons why a decision is made."

It states, and rightly so, that employees are more committed to the change and more supportive when the "why" is explained. Instead of speaking to workers on a one-way path of communication people need to be respected and listened to.
Duh! Either today's managers have forgotten what it's like to be an 'underling' or they never were one. Or they're so full of their "power" that they like squashing everyone they can. I'm kind of jaded so I'm going with the latter.

We have power!!! (In one sense of the word.)

So this week is better, in a big way... We got power back Sunday evening! After 12 days without it and 10 days without water, I sort of felt like a mole crawling out of my hole. (Or a druggie, awaking from a clouded stupor.) Imagine my surprise when I could walk from room to room and not have to bring my own source of light! Or clean the bathroom without worrying if I'd have enough water to flush the toilet AND clean residue gunk off my hands! It was amazing. You should have been there when the toilet was cleaning and sparkling... I felt a little emotional...
But alas, life likes to hand out trade-offs, so this week I'm sick. (Last weekend Aiden was sick with strep but he got antibiotics so that doesn't count anymore.) And I have tons of school work. This week and next week I have 2 tests, a quiz, 2 assignments and 2 projects due. This is all for 2 online classes! Luckily I like the subject matter, but still.
Another thing came up this week that has me perplexed. My Organizational Behavior course text stated that it should almost be a requirement that, for a manager to be effective, he or she should have a need for power (defined as the need to make others behave in a way in which they would not have behaved otherwise). Ok... I've never had a high power motive (their words), so what does that mean for my future in business? I won't be effective unless I have some insatiable urge to control others? I'm guessing I'll have to interpret power in my own way - perhaps the need to make other behave better than they normally would? But it just seems wrong, from the examples I've seen in life, to feel a need to manipulate others to behave differently that what comes natural to them.

Sigh. I have a lot to learn in business.

I love the predictable.

So the past week has been interesting.

We've showered in three different places - none of which were our own home. We've stayed warm with a mini fireplace, a friend's wood stove and a generator-powered furnace. Getting ready in the morning involved packing clothes to take a shower somewhere else in the evening and grabbing the cooler full of food that we placed outside over night but have to bring with us to work during the day to refrigerate.

Our living room is packed full of the contents of our storage building which is now a ball of tinfoil. The carpet and kitchen floor is thick with kitty litter that allowed us to walk safely on the porch but turned into a huge mess. Our dining room holds the contents of our second living room, such as our 60" television, the stand and all its contents when we thought a tree was going to go through our roof.

I won't even go into the toilets which can't be flushed unless we haul enough water home to fill the tank first...

Yea. I'm ready for our power to come back on. I'm ready for the typical. I'm ready for my predictable life to return!