Happy Halloween

As soon as the Kid got a peek at these, he started singing "Happy Birthday."  Apparently he thinks cake is only allowed at birthdays.  Heh.

 Mummies...

...and spider webs...

 ...and worms in dirt...

OH MY!

I was in a hurry to deliver these to a friends house so I didn't have time to take a decent pic.  But they are pretty cute, er scary,  and in keeping with my must-be-simple-to-decorate rule.  Plus I tried a new vegan chocolate cake recipe that turned out remarkably moist and tasty.  After my last attempt at vegan cupcakes turned out disappointingly dry, I'm happy to have a new go-to recipe.  Happy birthday...I mean, Happy Halloween!

Paying others to work

By far the best way to remodel is to pay someone else to do the work.  Sure it's still annoying and intrusive but by golly it's done.  And fast!  Anyhoo, my mom asked for some pics of the work so without further ado, here they are. 

We had the siding repaired where we removed a slider that led to no where.  In fact we have several sliders that lead to no where.  Odd.  No pics of this as it just looks like a wall.

Then we had a patio poured where the pool once was.  (Don't tell our kids that we had a pool once upon a time.  Oh, and NEVER buy a house with a pool.  At least not in Oregon.)  The patio is brushed concrete trimmed with a tinted grey stamped concrete in a grid pattern.  It is huge so the grid helps to avoid the parking lot look.  The Kid loves running back and forth with his shopping cart or riding his bike around.  He LOVES the patio.

We cleaned the chairs so they are facing the sun to dry.  Hence the army o chairs look.  It's nice, don't ya think?

Then we had the fence replaced which not only looks a billion times better but we also enlarged it to include a side yard so it's much more useful.  Rick's Custom Fencing demo'd the old fence and installed 280 linear feet of new fence in just 2 days. 

And finally we had a new roof installed.  This is a dreadful picture.  How does one take a good picture of a black roof on a cloudy day?  Obviously I have no clue. 

We brilliantly bought our house at the height of the market and then proceeded to pour money into it.  While we've enjoyed the fruits of those remodels, we doubt we'll ever recoup that investment.  And since we don't intend to live in this house forever, we tried to keep costs to a minimum which is why we opted for a concrete patio and a composite roof.  There are so many other things I'd love to do (replace the windows for example) but I think we're about done. 

Of course in the last 2 weeks, the Hubs added a small raised bed for herbs.  And he has almost completed demolition of a portion of old rotton decking.  Then we'll level that portion of the yard and barkdust.  So when I say "almost done," I really mean THIS NEVER ENDS!

Here comes trouble

I returned home from a trip last night eager to see my boys.  The weather was beautiful so we headed out to the park and then grabbed some dinner.  The Kid declared that it was "Nana and Papa Tiiiiiiimmmmmeeee" on the way home so we hopped on Readeo and let Nana and Papa e-babysit him read to him for a bit.  Finally after a bath, snuggles and more books, I tucked him in and said goodnight. 
 
Normally there is some whining as he winds down but that is about it until morning.  Note I said "normally." 
 
I had just begun thumbing through a cookbook in the kitchen when Jeff commented "what was that?"  Two seconds later The Kid runs into the kitchen signing and saying "AWAKE!" 

Oh boy.  We've clearly begun a whole new phase.

Chocolate Tall Cakes

My dad came over for a birthday dinner so I made these vegan cupcakes (don't tell him they were vegan). 

It was a winning recipe on Cupcake Wars so I figured they had to be good and they are totally adorable with their little muffin top hats.  Unfortunately I couldn't get the frosting to turn out right so I made a batch of the Fluffy Vegan Buttercream from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World".  The cake was a little drier than I would have liked so I'll check them at 18 minutes next time.  But I like the combination of fresh berries, buttercream and chocolate cake.  I mean, what's not to like?  The Kid devoured his in about 2 seconds of course.  I couldn't get him to pause for a photo so we just had to take one with his fork in his mouth.

Happy birthday Dad!  And happy anniversary Jeff - I can't believe it's been 16 years already!

Mood swings

After a brief respite, the tantrums have returned.  The Kid is happy as a clam one second and whining/crying/flailing the next.  Tonight we endured a doozy.  We went to the store and he picked out birthday cards for Papa and Auntie Michelle (I'm sure the recipients will enjoy his interesting choices).  And we got in the car and headed for home without complaint.  But as soon as I mentioned that he would have a bath when we got home, he started crying and whining.  Keep in mind that he likes baths so I had no idea that this would cause such a fit.  Based on his repeated whines for "Auntie Shell" and "Papa" and "Biiiiiiiirrrrrthdaaaaay" I realized that he thought we were going to see Papa and Auntie Michelle and have a birthday party.  Darn it.  After several time outs interspersed with more whining and crying, he finally had a fun bath and is now happily getting ready for bed. 

While I don't want to under-sell my hatred of the tantrums, the harder part for me is not holding a grudge.  Once he has a change in activities, he is instantly sweet as pie.  But I'm still reeling from the drama.  I honestly don't know how he changes moods so darn quickly!  I just hope this tantrum phase ends soon because I'm getting whiplash from the mood swings.

God's infomercial

I just finished reading "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by local author Donald Miller.  I have read all of his books and always find his writing to be both accessible and insightful.  One passage in the book resonated with me in particular.  It talks about the idea that people often expect life to be easy once they become a Christian.  Like some sort of infomercial for the key to happiness on earth.  When in fact, Jesus promises us that life will be filled with trials (John 16:33).  Just look at the earliest Christians, the apostles, and the strife they endured.  Don puts it this way:

"Can you imagine an infomercial with Paul, testifying to the amazing product of Jesus, saying that he once had power and authority, and since he tried Jesus he's been moved from prison to prison, beaten and routinely bitten by snakes?  I don't think many people would be buying that product.  Peter couldn't do much better.  He was crucified upside down, by some reports.  Stephen was stoned outside the city gates.  John, supposedly, was boiled in oil.  It's hard to imagine how a religion steeped in so much pain and sacrifice turned into a promise for earthly euphoria." 

As life unfolds new trials before me, I find myself again wondering why.  Why would God allow bad things to happen to his beloved children?  As a parent, I would do anything to protect my kids from pain.  So why doesn't my all-powerful heavenly Father protect me from pain?  And if God promises us plans to "prosper us and not to harm us," (Jeremiah 29:11) then why are we allowed to suffer?  What happened to my key to happiness on earth? 

Don answers these why's like this:

"I think Jesus can make things better, but I don't think he is going to make things perfect.  Not here, and not now.  What I love about the true gospel of Jesus, though, is that it offers hope.  Paul has hope our souls will be made complete.  It will happen in heaven, where there will be a wedding and a feast.  I wonder if that's why so many happy stories end in weddings and feasts.  Paul says Jesus is the hope that will not disappoint.  I find that comforting."

God didn't promise heaven on earth.  So while life may totally suck from time to time, I have hope.  And despite my anger and grief and all around confusion, I know God is right here with me.  He will give me the strength to endure (Psalm 46:1). 

All this is to say, my sister has breast cancer.  She is one tough chick and I know she will kick cancer's ever loving arse.  But why the heck does she have to go through this?  God help me, I have no flipping clue.  So I just trust and hope and pray.  If you know my sis and want to follow along as she gives cancer an old fashioned arse whooping, you can find updates here.

Managing 101 - What Not to Do

I tend to shy away from talking about work as some of my co-workers lurked around here from time to time. But with my blogging lull, I'm guessing that they've all gone on their merry way. And what the heck, it's my blog!

Like many people, I've worked for a myriad of managers over my career. Most have been good-hearted which tends to erase any managerial shortcomings. But there have been a few doozies over the years.

My first manager liked to stroll in around 9am, apply her make-up for the next 15 minutes before running out to grab some breakfast. She then spent the balance of her day huddled around the proverbial water cooler complaining about how overworked she was before exiting promptly at 4:30pm. She treated me with a sort of aloof disdain leaving my budding self esteem to wilt under her harsh gaze. When a new manager took over and treated me as though I was CEO potential for doing the exact same work, the skies seemed to part. Everything suddenly made sense and I was quickly promoted. It was then that I realized what a profound impact a manager can make on their employees!

Fast forward through a dozen or so managers across 2 more companies and I have learned a great deal about what to do and sometimes more importantly, what NOT to do as a leader. Which brings me to my latest experience. This one we'll put firmly in the what not to do column. Suffice it to say that my last manager made my first manager look like Mary Poppins. In fact, "boss" is a more appropriate term for her.

My boss would give unclear direction (if any at all) and then verbally abuse us for not delivering her expectations. She would push us for critiques of our co-workers, tell the individual a grossly exaggerated version of the conversation then berate us publicly for not working well together. When things went well, she would pass off our work as her own and when things went poorly, she would step quietly aside to watch us crash and burn. This past year has been a trying one but I was intent on doing my best, helping her succeed and sheltering my team from her craziness. Overall, I believe I accomplished my goals. She was uncharacteristically complimentary in my annual review despite giving me a rather lackluster rating. It was a disappointing end to the year but thankfully my efforts have led to a new job.

Believe me when I tell you dear internet friends that had I written this post a week ago, it would have taken a much uglier turn. But a wonderful vacation and a thought provoking sermon on Ephesians 4:31-32 (31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you) has softened my perspective. So at this point, I'm chalking this one up to just another life lesson of what not to do. And I hope it makes me a better manager as a result.