For those who don't know, I presented at the national conference for GFOA in Atlanta (that's the Government Finance Officers Association - the club for government finance nerds). I was extremely nervous given that this was my first time presenting at a national conference of anything and because I was presenting in front of a few hundred people. Yikes!
It has been an incredible experience to come to Atlanta, and I've temporarily forgotten how crappy my job can be. I am incredibly honored that my boss and the higher-ups asked me to give the presentation (granted it's because the Controller of the City was originally asked, but when he told his wife about it, she reminded him he had a family vacation planned that weekend, so to ensure they wouldn't need a divorce lawyer, he asked if I could do it).
I've gotten a lot of really positive comments from people and someone stopped me at the even tonight and asked if I presented and told me what a great job I did. Man it feels good! I feel so happy!
Toastmasters certainly helped and I was surprised at how much less nervous I was for this presentation. My mouth still got a bit dry and I stumbled on some words, but overall, I felt pretty calm. I guess that's what happens when you know the subject inside and out!
I've met some really great people at the conference, and hope that I'll see them again sometime. For now, I'll focus on getting some sleep before my flight tomorrow morning.
Thank you to everyone for your support! The good vibes reached me!
08 June 2010
02 June 2010
24 days to go
Whenever I go to our wedding website, it likes to remind me how many days are left until my wedding. As if I needed a reminder!!! I'm feeling pretty stressed with all of the details there are yet to plan or finalize. I'm trying to get as much done as possible now (like making the card box, working on name cards, figuring out cupcake flavors, etc). There are a lot of details!
I'm really looking forward to a month from now when Chris and I are relaxing, enjoying not having to plan anything for a while, and remembering how much fun we had on our wedding day.
I'm really looking forward to a month from now when Chris and I are relaxing, enjoying not having to plan anything for a while, and remembering how much fun we had on our wedding day.
16 May 2010
Getting dirty
This weekend was full of gardening and other yard work. I dug up the shrubs in the bed against the garage and set out to prep the bed for some of the native plants I bought last weekend. I'm determined to get rid of that red pumice, so what did I do? I dug out all of the pumice from the bed against the garage and added it to the bed against the back of the house! I will get rid of it eventually...
I got the plants in the ground and officially started my adventure in outdoor gardening! I've had houseplants forever and never enjoyed gardening - ask my mom. But there is a great satisfaction when it's your own. I felt great satisfaction when I got the first plants in the ground.
Chris got the bird feeder post in the ground - it's replacing the shepard's hook we were using. This way, we can have feeders on all sides if we want to. When we went out to more hooks, we also stopped by the bird store to get an oriole feeder. We're hoping to attract some - Chris has gotten some amazing photos of the orioles at my parents' and he'd love to get some here too. We're going to put out the hummingbird feeder soon too. All sorts of activity here!
While I had my camera out, I took some pictures around the house to document what everything looks like this time of year:
It feels so good to lay in the sun!
I got the plants in the ground and officially started my adventure in outdoor gardening! I've had houseplants forever and never enjoyed gardening - ask my mom. But there is a great satisfaction when it's your own. I felt great satisfaction when I got the first plants in the ground.
Chris got the bird feeder post in the ground - it's replacing the shepard's hook we were using. This way, we can have feeders on all sides if we want to. When we went out to more hooks, we also stopped by the bird store to get an oriole feeder. We're hoping to attract some - Chris has gotten some amazing photos of the orioles at my parents' and he'd love to get some here too. We're going to put out the hummingbird feeder soon too. All sorts of activity here!
While I had my camera out, I took some pictures around the house to document what everything looks like this time of year:
It feels so good to lay in the sun!
08 May 2010
Latest addition
While I was browsing through Craigslist recently, I found a sideboard for the dining room. I had been thinking about getting something to replace the speakers and chairs, and I finally found it:
Today I'm going with Gina to a plant sale at the fairgrounds. I'm hoping to get some more succulents and some native plants to place the stuff in the bed against the garage. I decided to only shop for plants to go in that bed, because otherwise I would be buying way too much stuff and I decided I'll tackle that bed first, and when life quiets down a bit, I'll start redoing the bed against the house. Exciting!
Work has been horrible and I unfortunately don't see it easing up anytime soon. I was close to having a breakdown yesterday, but I managed to keep myself somewhat together. We are scrambling to get the 2011 budget up for users and it's a major production. That means I've been putting in a lot of overtime which means I'm cranky. This is why I've decided to take today completely off, and I'll do work stuff tomorrow. I have to remind myself often to take deep breaths - it actually helps for about 10 seconds :)
Today I'm going with Gina to a plant sale at the fairgrounds. I'm hoping to get some more succulents and some native plants to place the stuff in the bed against the garage. I decided to only shop for plants to go in that bed, because otherwise I would be buying way too much stuff and I decided I'll tackle that bed first, and when life quiets down a bit, I'll start redoing the bed against the house. Exciting!
Work has been horrible and I unfortunately don't see it easing up anytime soon. I was close to having a breakdown yesterday, but I managed to keep myself somewhat together. We are scrambling to get the 2011 budget up for users and it's a major production. That means I've been putting in a lot of overtime which means I'm cranky. This is why I've decided to take today completely off, and I'll do work stuff tomorrow. I have to remind myself often to take deep breaths - it actually helps for about 10 seconds :)
03 May 2010
Lilacs in full bloom
I love our backyard:
I finished doing the spring cleanup this weekend and I got inspired to start planning out what future gardening I want to do. I am determined to dig up all the pumice from the beds and to start bringing some more color into the plant selection. Right now it's the lilac in back, and the bleeding hearts and potentially edible rhubarb in front. By the way, does anyone know how to determine if my rhubarb plant is edible? I'm going to bring it into a nursery soon, but I was wondering if any of you knew off the top of your head.
I'm thinking about trying to stick with native plants for the most part and stealing a whole bunch of flowers when we go up to my parents over Memorial Day weekend.
My centerpieces are doing well - for those who don't know, I'm going to spoil the surprise because I'm excited that they're still alive: I'm going to have succulents. They are growing which is a great sign :)
Spring is exciting!
I'm thinking about trying to stick with native plants for the most part and stealing a whole bunch of flowers when we go up to my parents over Memorial Day weekend.
My centerpieces are doing well - for those who don't know, I'm going to spoil the surprise because I'm excited that they're still alive: I'm going to have succulents. They are growing which is a great sign :)
Spring is exciting!
11 April 2010
Banjo's busy weekend
It turns out Banjo's been chasing more than squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits out of our yard:
We now have to be on the lookout for bouncy balls! What's next?!?
05 April 2010
Banjo's anniversary
One year ago yesterday, Banjo came to live with us. Because I didn't care enough, Banjo had to wait until today to get a special treat (just kidding - it was because I hadn't made time to go to the grocery store). Banjo got a yummy can of wet dog food, a far cry from the dry crap he usually gets. He was trembling with excitement as I prepared his special meal, and scarfed it down extremely quickly. Licking his lips with satisfaction, he reflected on our year together.
It certainly was a rocky start - I chose the worst possible week to get him because both Chris and Kim were gone a lot. Banjo, given his new and noisy environment, had a very difficult time adjusting. I was actually debating whether or not to take him back to his foster family. And now, I can't imagine not having him. We've done various training programs with him and we've had great results. He's still bad crazy sometimes, but he's the third member of our family :)
We had a major test for him on Sunday. Chris's parents brought up all three of their dogs, the largest one is terrified of Banjo. Banjo growled a few times, but didn't attack any one despite all of the excitement. I think it was great that we were able to hang outside the entire morning.
With the great weather, Banjo and I started our yard cleanup. I've gotten most of the backyard done. A lot of work needs to be done in the front of the house. I didn't clean up any of the beds in the front yard in the fall, thinking the leaves would further protect all the plants during the winter. Given the way all the plants are coming back up, I think it was likely a good choice, but more experienced gardeners may tell me the plants would have done just as well without it.
Spring really is exciting!
It certainly was a rocky start - I chose the worst possible week to get him because both Chris and Kim were gone a lot. Banjo, given his new and noisy environment, had a very difficult time adjusting. I was actually debating whether or not to take him back to his foster family. And now, I can't imagine not having him. We've done various training programs with him and we've had great results. He's still bad crazy sometimes, but he's the third member of our family :)
We had a major test for him on Sunday. Chris's parents brought up all three of their dogs, the largest one is terrified of Banjo. Banjo growled a few times, but didn't attack any one despite all of the excitement. I think it was great that we were able to hang outside the entire morning.
With the great weather, Banjo and I started our yard cleanup. I've gotten most of the backyard done. A lot of work needs to be done in the front of the house. I didn't clean up any of the beds in the front yard in the fall, thinking the leaves would further protect all the plants during the winter. Given the way all the plants are coming back up, I think it was likely a good choice, but more experienced gardeners may tell me the plants would have done just as well without it.
Spring really is exciting!
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