By Myself

This is the first weekend in a month that I have had to myself. I very much needed this time to get my home, my work and my life in order. Why? You might ask? I have to admit that I am one of those individuals who does not function very well unless everything is in its place and I am managing it or if you prefer a stronger term, controlling it.

It was important to me to get my house changed to its fall/winter look and I was able to complete that last weekend even as a physical detriment to myself. This Friday evening I spent the time cleaning out my draws and closet and reviewing my wardrobe in anticipation of the weather getting chillier. It is always one of those cruxes as to what will fit and what will not. I was pleasantly surprised that a wraparound dress that I bought 3 years ago and which still has the tags on it fit so nicely. The Parisi High Intensity class is paying off – I can see it with my black heeled boots – cannot wait for that first day to wear it. I also had my furnace looked at by my service contractor to ensure that all was working properly and the house would be heated nicely come this winter.

Today after my Zumba workout and running errands I decided it was time to tackle the front yard and the back patio. I took my very sharp Cutco shears and trimmed several bushes in the front yard – there is one that has absolutely gone haywire this past summer so it definitively needed an extensive trim. I then worked on the back and removed all the weeds and tilled the soil. I will look to see what I will plant in it before the weather really turns cold. I also removed the garden hoses and put these down covers I have over each of the faucets and turned off the water pipe. Next weekend I will remove the patio furniture cushions and cover the furniture – it is the last remembrance of warm weather until next April.

As today is September 30th I am a little behind in my holiday shopping. Today, I ordered for the boys Halloween shirts and pajamas – yesterday I bought each of them a trick or treat bag – I will put these clothes in the bag when I give it to them. I have started to get everyone’s Christmas list and little by little I am chiseling at the requests – my goal is to have all my shopping completed by Halloween. I also went to Hallmark on Saturday and bought all birthday cards for October and November, Halloween and Thanksgiving cards. This is the way I like to organize myself so if a “surprise” or my time is needed for something I will not feel guilty, resentful or give myself undue stress. That is my personal life. Professionally I am caught up on my projects, presentations and MOVI/Web Ex requests by my customers. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by my job because I wasn’t getting it done in the timely manner that I like; but, all of that changed this week. And, the VCI-Group conference is coming along. Now I need to get End Users to realize the importance of this conference and get their butt into the seats.

I am determined to continue my workouts and to add diversity to them. I have again signed up for the High Intensity workout given by the Parisi School at my gym. They are introducing a new Zumba class called, “Zumba Tone” and it will be with the Zumba batons – this is supposed to help tone my over 50 arms and get rid of that flyaway flab. It is an 8 week program that will take place every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30; so Saturdays I will do a 2 hour workout beginning at 8:30 with aqua aerobics and then I will do my 10:30 Zumba Tone class. I am psyched. No, the scale isn’t moving down; but, I know that my body is more toned than it has ever been.

Lastly, I will leave you with something I forgot to mention last week. So as you already know last weekend was hectic and on Sunday I had the whole family over for dinner. What I didn’t write about was that as I was cooking dinner I received an email from American Express regarding my Gold card (I also have Platinum) it was asking me if I had made a charge as they thought it might be fraudulent activity. After they told me the charge, $2040 to a place called 511 Inc (never heard of it) they then proceeded to give me other charges $500 to Dell (I haven’t owned a Dell computer since I was in my EMBA program); and, another for $21.90. I have to tell you that Amex was wonderful and advised me that they were cancelling my card, issuing me a new one and for me to let them know if I see any other charges on my bill that do not belong to me. By Tuesday evening my new Gold card had arrived and I was able to activate it. I am waiting for the bill to come in a few weeks to see the charges on my old card and if there is anything else to report. The one hassle was going through and remembering who I have charging directly to my card like EZ Pass and changing the card information. I know some people are bothered by this – but, I appreciate that they are aware of my charging habits, the stores I frequent, the amount I usually spend and reached out to me.

Sometimes, Big Brother is not that bad.