090 / 365: Bank....Shmank!

I had my first official dealings with my new bank today.

Last week, my old bank, First Market Bank, merged with Union Trust to form Union First Market Bank. FMB was owned by Richmond's famous Ukrop's family, who wisely decided to ride into the sunset this year. Now my little bank was becoming big. A little too big, as during the transition, my debit card was rejected by the gas station (and there were reports of many other people having problems). Sigh...I should have known I'd be in for a bumpy ride.

My first task was to activate my online account. This process took an hour and two phone calls to customer service. I could have done this last week, but my procrastination side took over. This caused me to rush through the sign up procedure, which caused me to be locked out of my account, which forced me to call customer service. And, as if I didn't have enough, I repeated the entire sequence, including the call to customer service. Thank goodness I didn't get the same person!

Next was the paycheck debacle. We received an e-mail from payroll on Friday that today's paycheck would not be directly deposited if we had an account with Union First Market Bank. Seems they were still working out some glitches. I became a Nervous Nellie, knowing that this was the paycheck that paid the mortgage. Somehow, I had to get my paycheck and get it to the bank so that it had time to clear before tomorrow's mortgage payment. All before a training I had to do at 11.

Murphy's Law kicked in: I didn't get my check til 10:30. However, God was good and I actually got to my training with five minutes to spare. The bank people promised me that this was the only time I had to do this. I hope so. Like I said, I hope my nice little bank isn't getting too big!

Until next time....bank away!

089 / 365: Maybe?

I have a feeling, albeit slight, that I might get a full night's sleep tonight. Pain is under control. Keep your fingers crossed.

Until next time...cross away!

088 / 365: Root Canal Haiku

Root canal is done.
Tender but some improvement.
Maybe sleep will come!

Until next time....heal away!

087 / 365: A Good Egg...

Yes he's a mess, but he's all mine!

MGR is a good soul. While silliness, abruptness and an "occasional" run off of the mouth exudes from his exterior, his interior is one of compassion, care and goodness. In this Easter season, it would be appropriate to call him a "Good Egg".

My toothache has prevented me from being at my best: as a wife, mother and productive human being. He has picked up where I left off: offering to run errands, doing the laundry, cooking and even some cleaning. All the while, he has maintained his "Father of the Year" status. The other night, I walked in on him and SRR. They froze like deer in headlights: MGR in a pilot's hat and aviator glasses, holding a rifle while "Mini-Me" was dressed up holding a light saber. They were shooting enemies while flying the couch across the sky. Awesome! Then he took JOR with him to play games at a local comic shop.

He was doing all of this while prepping (and fretting) over his observation. I don't know why he was fretting, he is good at what he does. He has a wonderful group of students and it's been a productive year, thus far. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and works on them. While he's not a fan of standardized tests (who is?), he does what he has to in order for his kids to do well. However, he does believe in fun as a main ingredient to learning, allowing for various projects and activities that make school an enjoyable place for his students.

This good egg has put up with me for almost 10 years. He must be cracked! I hope he knows how much I love him. And that's no "yolk"!



Until next time....crack away!

086 / 365: The Fit Family, Year 2

Another year in the record books. A FREEZING year!

I'm so proud of these three boys. They ran a great race. MGR told me SRR had trouble staying with the slower duet. He was itching to leave them in the dust. JOR also had a good run, not stopping at all. That's an amazing accomplishment for him. Yeah boys!!


My turn next. Oye, what a mess!

The cold temps and colder breeze were not good for me. I guess between the cold, the waiting around, the lack of water yesterday, and the lack of proper training the past 3 months, I did not run my best race. The first two miles were OK, I was slower on miles 3 & 4, and by mile 5 by entire right leg was cramped up. It was not pretty. Sadly, my time was not as good as last year.

I could sit here and wallow in self-pity, but I'm not going to. I had my "mad" hour, now it's time to move on. There were lots of positive things about today:
-My family had fun at the race, despite their constant complaining about the weather.
-As I was lining up at the starting gate, I saw the most amazing event: a group of visually handicapped people, white canes and all, were prepping for the race. It was totally inspiring!
-My great friend, JSG and her amazing daughter, IMG, place second in a singing competition. Awesome!!
-I survived playing Mass w/ only two days to practice the music.
-My tooth didn't drive me crazy...til about an hour ago.
-The stinky finish wasn't the end of the world. This is just the beginning of race season, so I have a couple more chances to redeem myself, and lots more chances to get off my dupa and do some real training!
-Tomorrow I get to recharge my batteries after a very hectic week!

Until next time....run away!

085 / 365: 10K Vigil Haiku

Sticker at Expo:
"In my dreams, I am Kenyan."
Need miracle now!

Until next time...dream away!

084 / 365: Oh My Stars!

They pulled it together!

JOR and SRR redeemed themselves this week: a decent week at school (all greens) and home, a good drama rehearsal, and then tonight's stellar performance! (Catch it on my FB page.)

I am so proud of these two squirts!

Until next time....listen away!