On His Way

Just taking a minute for a quick post here. Yup...Leo's on his way! He called me last night from Germany and we got to talk for almost 20 minutes. That was so very nice! When he calls me from Escravos there is a huge delay in the transmission so it's almost painful to try and hold a real conversation. We usually end up with one of us talking non-stop while the other listens, then trade off for a bit. Generally, our conversations last less than 5 minutes, most of them more like 2-3 minutes. So listening to his voice in "real time" last night was quite the luxury.

He should be in Chicago about 1pm, then will begin the final leg at nearly 4pm arriving here a little before 7pm. After that, we still have a 3 hour drive home, but we always enjoy that part, so it's no big deal.

After the phone call last night I had a hard time sleeping, so I ended up back here [at work] at 3am. Needless to say, today is going to be a VERY LONG DAY. But hey, no big deal. Leo's ALMOST HOME!! :-)

Almost Home

I got to talk to Leo on the phone last night for a couple of minutes. It was the first time in a long time, and it had taken him about 20 minutes of dialing and dropped connections before it actually worked. The harmattan is wreaking havoc on them and interrupting a lot more than communications. But it is not something that comes, stays, then leaves but rather a weather condition that is always lurking and tends to pop up randomly, usually when you least expect it.

Leo seems to be doing fine, but like me, is ready for this rotation to come to an end. He will leave early on Wednesday but has a different travel schedule than usual and will not be home until Thursday night. He will also be flying in to a different terminal since he will take care of the international arrival process in Chicago instead of Houston. No matter. I will be waiting whenever/wherever his arrangers decide to give him back to me.

My Saturday classes (Project Management Professional Exam Preparation) are taking more of a toll than I expected. Although I've been involved in project management for years, learning the official lingo, structure and framework is a bit like learning a new language. I mean, when learning a new language you know that there is a word for "apple" in there somewhere, but you have to learn it when you hear or see it, learn that it is the word used for the object of an apple, and remember all that even when you are talking about "pencils", "faith", "ideas", and all the other words in the language. Whew! What a task!

I also had to work on Sunday morning this week. The report was due this morning and we couldn't find another opening in the schedule to prepare for it, so Sunday morning was the answer. It meant that I missed going to church 2 weeks in a row, a trend I really do not want to continue. (Have I told you how much we LOVE our little church here? Well, we do.) I am positive that even though I have to go back to Houston at least twice before Sunday, I will be able to be home in time to attend services with Leo next week. I know that he is looking forward to it as well.

Well, now that I've gotten my morning chit-chat out of the way, I guess I'm ready to go to work. I have a full day ahead, so other than getting some laundry done while I work, I probably won't have time for anything else (housecleaning, fishing, reading, sleeping, etc.) Sigh. I'm really thinking I need a vacation soon. It's just that there's still this nagging little problem of needing money to survive. If I could just find a way around that one...

What am I Doing Up?

It's 1:30am as I sit here in my Houston apartment thinking "What am I still doing up at this hour?"

The first problem is I have an awful lot on my mind, and on my plate, these days. The second is that I have gotten my days and nights swapped around again and can't seem to go back the other way. Because I really like working alone, and find that I can generally get so much more accomplished that way, I often choose to work nights and sleep days. It causes a few problems for me, however, like the fact that I can't get clarifications or questions answered when I need them, or the fact that I can never find a decent parking spot at the apartment complex if I come in after 7pm, etc. This morning I will try to go to bed before 3am and be at work by 7am (don't worry...I slept a LOT earlier this evening).

I have more schedule craziness to come over the next few weeks. I have tried to become more active in some of the associations that I belong to, like the PMI and the AITP, so I attend meetings each month and special presentations that come up. Also, I have been attending some other events that are for personal enhancement, education and enjoyment. This includes an upcoming (Jan 31) event to hear Maya Angelou speak, a "Project Management Best Practices" conference, and the birthday part of a long-time friend (typically an event I would avoid, but something I'm going to attend because I think it will do me some good.) And finally, I am trying to get ready to take an extensive exam for my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification, so I'm spending Saturdays in an all-day class and try to study between 1 and 3 hours each day on the topic.

But the biggest upcoming event, and the one I am most looking forward to, is Leo coming home on the 29th. It seems like he's been gone SO LONG this time, and I am so thrilled that he will be home in less than a week!

We've been working on several projects on the house that I am almost ready to share, but I'm saving the updates as a surprise for Leo, so I guess you guys will have to wait to find out more as well. [Be sure and check back at the end of the month. Once Leo's home and has seen everything, I'll be posting updates, photos, and more.]

The family all seems to be doing well, although I haven't seen any of them in a while. Still, the girls call on a regular basis, I get the occasionally email from my 8-year-old granddaughter (do you know how COOL that is!?!), and I see Jess [my bil] and Grace a couple of times each week.

I am in for a change soon as we've decided to give up the Houston apartment for a while. I have been trying to work more from home and less from Houston (with only minor success) and I have less need for the apartment than I have in a while. I'm going to alternate between staying at my sis' house and taking advantage of some of the cheaper hotels in the city. I'm not particularly demanding when it comes to hotels; if they are clean, have a bed and have a shower, I'm good. At this point it's hard to say whether giving up the apartment will save or cost me money in the long run...we'll just have to wait and see.

Ah...I see that it's now 2am and I have a little more studying to do before hitting the hay. I'm currently focusing on Project Management Processes, something I understand pretty well in general, but need to get the specifics down a little better in my mind in preparation for the exam. I would like to be working on something a little more entertaining, like learning more about Photoshop, programming a little in XML, or playing around a bit more in the newest version of Visual Studio. But...all that will have to wait. First things first. And right now that means one more chapter in my book, a quick shower, and a couple of hours of sleep before it all starts again. Nightey night all!

New Grandchild on the Way!!!

Yup...big announcement, right? Rachael (our youngest) and Lee have four lovely, lively children now. At 8, Madison is a real sweetie and often runs herd over the others. Red-headed Mason is 5, a sweet-natured boy and tons of fun to be around. Kaya is 4, stepdaughter to Rachael but definitely part of the family. She is petite and sweet and we adore her as well. Zoe is the newest at 8 months. She'll only be 16 months old when she has to make way for the new baby, but I'm sure they'll handle it all just fine.

The family held off making the announcement until they got settled into their new place--they didn't want everyone to worry. You see, they lost their home in the hurricane, and have been living in a travel trailer in her dad's yard ever since. Last week they got moved into a very nice brand new 5-bedroom/3-bath double-wide, and the kids are just going crazy over all the room. So, new home, new baby, new adventures ahead for the entire family.

Madison is going to take a little trip soon and go live with her Aunt Becca and Uncle Shannon for the rest of the school year. She views it as a big adventure, Rebecca and Shannon are so looking forward to it all, and it will give Rachael and Lee a bit of a break as they get through the next few months and all the changes that are in store.

Everyone is healthy and happy, and life is good for our clan. Can't wait to see what other excitement occurs in 2009!

Leo Keeping in Touch

Every day between 1¹and 12pm, I watch my mailbox closely. That's usually when Leo gets a minute free and drops me a line. I sometimes find out about the weather, sometimes about the work progress, and occasionally about some mischief that he's been involved in. But I ALWAYS find out how much he misses me and how he longs to be home again. So, I stay up a little late and wait on his message. It's important to me.