Hello Happy Pitbulls

Again, overdone - bring out the fork

Again, overdone,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

Yeah, okay. So I can kinda sorta walk from my desk to the photocopier, and around the corner, and carry my own coffee (well, maybe not so much). I have officially overdone it. I have a big blob of swollen on my ankle. So here's what's on tap for tonight:

A refreshing glass of muscat (it's like dessert in a glass)
Ice on the ankle, in addition to my lovely ace bandages
Lots of pillows for elevation

Oh, and it's getting warm out! Yeah! Summer's around the corner!

On Mother's Day: For motherless children

I used to dread mother's day, after my mother died, because I no longer have a mother.  My mom died far too young in November of 2000.  Shortly after my wedding. Before the birth of her grandkids. Before a lot of things happened.  And it took me a long time to feel like myself again.  I was really overcome with sadness, really for almost a year.  Everyone seemed to move on, and I even had a boss who said to me "normally people just get over this and move on."  Shortly after he said that, I quit.  With no job lined up.  Who says that to someone?

Then one night I had a dream with my mom in it, and I can't remember the details of it, but it was clearly a signal from her that it was time for me to be okay, and it provided me with some kind of closure or acceptance of comfort, and from that point it was okay.

I had a very hard time with people trying to fill in as my mom (like my sister-in-laws).  Not that I didn't appreciate it -- it just wasn't the same.  I think only my little brother and I were on the same wavelength about it.  (Love you, kiddo!)

So  --- there are two things I dread about Mother's day:

1. The deluge of email coming from various retailers telling me about how to make mom happy on Mother's Day.  Don't they get it?  I can't do that anymore.  I wish there was a filter that you let you set preferences NOT to get emails about gifts for mom.  In fact, my favorite one from this year came from 1-800-FLOWERS:  Subject line: Pamper your mom in Woodland or wherever she is!  Come on now -- do they deliver flowers to the afterlife?  Now THAT is customer service!
2. The obligatory phone call from my dad.  It already happened this year.  It goes like this:

Dad: So, what are you doing for mother's day?
Me: I don't know. I don't have a mother and I'm not a mother.
Dad: It's not too late for you, ya know. Crazy Person [Not her real name] X had a baby and 48 and she's really happy.
Me: Dad, give it a rest.

I mean seriously.  Dude, how many fights do we have to have about my reproduction for you to realize this subject is completely off topic!

So, what am I doing for mother's day?  I am taking my dad to a movie and dinner.  We're two motherless kids. All I have to say is he better not give me a mother's day card.

Just so you all know, some of my very best friends are mothers and I am not bitter.  I would like to wish a very happy mother's day to my lovely sister-in-laws, Megan and Kim, for being mommies to my awesome niece and nephews!  And to my bestest lady friends (Anita and Miss Jodie), happy mommy's day!  And to the nice moms at work: Happy mother's day!  You kids are the most fun and excellent mommies!

Crutches: Are they on the way out?

Camo crutch buddies,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

The good news: I finally got my crutch buddies in the mail. Those are the fleece coverings for my crutch handles and hand grips that are going to save my sides and hands from the agony of constant pressure and friction. I got mine (in blue camo) after I saw someone in Costco who had them. I wish I had these puppies 6 weeks ago! And look, there's my Zappos box which my shoes came in (and which I love, by the way).

So even better news: Although I was a little worried about a twinge of pain I have in the front of my leg, I think I am making really quick progress. I can almost walk in my boot without crutches. I am barely supporting any weight with my crutches, although not quite ready to get rid of them. I can maneuver short distances on one crutch.

Considering it's not even two weeks that I have been weight bearing, I think I rock!

Other superfabulous news: If you are following my Tweet stream or Friend Feed, you'll know that I attended an awards ceremony for State Information Officers and the web site I have been working on for the last 3 years won a silver award. In addition, our office took home six awards for various publications, events, brochures, marketing pieces, etc. that we produced at work. I rarely write about work (well, not directly anyhow), but I am proud of the folks in my office, and it makes me happy to be amongst a really amazing, fun, creative, goofy crowd. Boy am I glad I am back at work!

The post that introduced me to Dooce

Ever since I read this post I have been hooked.  Those who know Mike and me will understand.  Poop stories make us laugh.

Hello Pitbull!

This news is something that there's no way a blog titled "Hello Happy Pitbulls" could pass on.  Imagine opening the hood of your truck to pour in power steering fluid and seeing this lovely face: 

This happy guy worked his way into the truck, chewing wires all the way, and got stuck!  You can read more here.  I was just glad to see the doggy has an owner.  I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble!

If Zero was ever out all night there is no way I would be able to sleep!  He's all curled up next to me now, snoring away to American Idol.

I wonder if the guy said "Hello Pitbull" or something more like "Holy Crap!" when he made this discovery.

Mommy Bloggers on Today

This morning I was hoping to catch the appearance of Heather Armstrong of Dooce.com fame on The Today Show, but I got the timing wrong.  I was happy to find it available online, so I thought I would share.  I just watched it and to be honest, I am not quite sure that I think it was  a great segment.  Yeah, we get it: mommy bloggers cater to a "niche market".  Yeah, the best of these women make a good living through advertising sold on their blogs.  Yeah, products can be sold through mommy endorsements on their blogs.

Kathie Lee Gifford creeps me out and I think she was very judge-y, especially considering she admitting knowing nothing about computers and talking about her "fear" factor.  It was such a fluffy segment, it made me realize why I don't really watch network television much anymore.  Anyhow, let me know if you have any thoughts. 

Ahem...in case you didn't know:

Back to work: less is more

I picked Cinco de Mayo as my return to work day, so I could join in whatever festivities were planned for the day:

• Managers Meeting (hardly festive, although one of my fellow managers and I needed to be separated during the meeting due to giggling outbursts).
• An update meeting for a project
• A full mail box (the kind that holds paper mail, not the e-kind)

They did have festive food in the cafe and I got to enjoy a rockin, kick-ass fat free sugar free vanilla iced late from the new coffee shop at work.
 
And, I did get to see the new work dog, G-dawg!  He is a cute little doggy!  This picture is just a snapshot from my cell phone (crappy camera), so if you want to see some cute pictures, you have to check out his adventure at the coast, his bestest day ever!

So, back to my my first day back (it's so easy to get distracted by puppies!)

I started out late.  I got there at about 8:30, got help carrying up all the work I had accumulated while I was out from one of my staff people and got settled in.  I had a meeting with my boss first thing and then it was full steam ahead after that.  Next thing I knew it was 5:00.  I came home and was so tired and so sore.  I realized I over-did it.

Today I had a meeting at 9 and a meeting at 2.  Both of them extremely important.  So I committed to a workday of 9 to 3.  And then I left around 4, by the time I finished the meeting, gathered my stuff, and got out to the car -- remembering it takes me a few minutes to get to the car, take off my boot, put on a shoe to drive and then get out.

Tomorrow I am starting later.  A lot later.  I will work from home in the AM and then come in for some afternoon meetings.  I think easing back makes more sense.  But I am so glad to be getting back into the mix!

Suri Cruise's Cute Little Ladybug Shoes

I am no fan of Oprah, or Tom Cruise for that matter, but I am a fan of @skimbaco (a.k.a. Katja Presnal), the owner and operator of Skimbaco, an online "upscale children's boutique." Katja is another one of my Twitter Peeps;one of the inspiring entrepreneuring women I have met in my travels on Twitter. And she's also the one who supplied Suri Cruise with her favorite ladybug shoes (as seen on Oprah).

When I heard about this, I had to check them out.  Look at how cute these little ladybug shoes are! If only these shoes came in my size, I would have a pair!  Now I do know a little lady who would fit in the, and I have to say there's a pair on the way to her soon!

So I wanted to share with my blog readers, the people of Woodland, Oprah Fans, and lovers of cute baby shoes that the Official Supplier of Suri's Favorite Shoes is Skimbaco.  Check it out and support a fabulous business!

On the road again: Look out Sacramento!

I was emailing with my staff this morning about coming back to work tomorrow and they asked me about my driving experience yesterday.  In my email response, it was clear this was good blog fodder.  And I need to send out the warning to all on the road between Woodland and Sacramento.

The last time I drove was on March 25th, driving home from work on the night before my surgery. I didn't even drive to my surgery.  I was way too nervous.

Mike has been telling me I need to learn how to drive with my left foot. Being a rule-follower by nature, I resist this, since I may "get in trouble" for doing something like that.  Boy, my childhood must have been something!  I am 41 years old and still worried about getting in trouble!  Since I've been healing pretty well and my doctor gave me permission to start putting weight on my foot (and remained kinda silent about driving other than to say, "Are you going to be able to slam on the brake if you need to stop fast?"), I decided I was ready to drive.  I figured I would just get into the car and be good to go.

Mike took me to an empty county building parking lot somewhere over on Ashley on the north side of town to start practicing. First off, I got into the driver seat, took off my boot, put on a sneaker. That part was hard.  I need to find a more flexible shoe for driving (maybe my Zappos shoes!). I adjusted the mirrors, released the emergency break, and stepped on the gas.  Then nothing.  Duh, you have to put the car in drive, Marilyn.  Silly girl.  How can you forget that?

From that point on, it was smooth sailing.  I practiced parking, and driving in reverse, and even stopping with my left foot if it was an emergency. After about 10 minutes of this, I got bored, so I drove out of the parking lot and started heading through town (Look out Woodland!).  First stop: Jackson Medical Supply. Turned in the scooter.  Hmmm, good decision?  We'll see.  Next stop, Costco!  I drove all the way down to Costco via Main Street.  That means lots of stupid drivers, lots of badly timed red light, lots of stopping, starting, and crazy people dodging.  And I made it.

Of course, then I proceeded to crutch around Costco for a while, which wore me out! Mike drove home then I made my way to the couch to recover for a few hours before I made the silly mistake of going to the River Cats game on crutches.  Coming home from that, I made friends with my ice pack, then cursed my self for over-ambition.  Today, I am laying low, monitoring a deployment at work from home, and thinking about easing into my return to work.  It's a long drive from Woodland to Sacramento and a long walk from the the parking lot at work to my desk.

Stick a fork in it...I'm done!

overdone,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

Okay, I did too much today. First driving. Then Costco. Then went to the baseball game. All on crutches (except the driving part). Now my ankle hurts and it's swollen. Don't be fooled by that picture. I've got an ice pack wrapped up in there. Mmmmm....ice is good.

Tomorrow: couch. Ice. Chillin!

Twitter sparks customer engagement: Mine!

Yes, I know I have been blathering on about Twitter for a while now, and while I still can't exactly explain the appeal of Twitter (you seriously have to experience it yourself), I've recently experienced an amazing series of events via Twitter that leave me wanting to rant and rave.  About. Zappos!

I have had a shoe thing for a long time. I may have inherited it through my mother. And her mother before her. I have acquired quite a collection of black shoes, until my husband imposed a bit of a moratorium on shoes and purses (which I have written about here). So I resort to sneaking shoes. Running shoes are another thing. I am entitled to go out and get a new pair of shoes for each 1/2 marathon training session, no problem.  Or Vans, Converse, anything funky and surf-chick he's cool with. But more black shoes for work?  Forget about it. Or when I spent $180 on a pair of John Fluevog fabulous purple heels that I tend to wear when I do board presentations and other dog and pony shows. So I sneak out for a pair here, a pair there. 

Now that I am recovering from my ankle surgery, I have been wearing the same shoe on my left foot, with the boot on my right. The shoe is half of a pair of Rocketdog sneakers I got from PacSun for $6.99. They were SO comfy and goofy and clunky. But since I've had this one shoe thing going for about 2 months now, I didn't want to wear out multiple left shoes. Well last night, the Rocketdog bit the dust.  Where am I going with this?

I knew that as I get ready to go from one shoe to two, I need a new pair of good, supportive, appropriately funky shoes. Since I have been spending so much time on Twitter, I have been following @zappos, who is the CEO of Zappos, on Twitter. I never really engaged in any conversation, but followed his conversation and the chatter about what Zappos is doing with Twitter to enhance their attitude about customer service and truly engaging in conversation with their customers to build brand loyalty. Zappos has encouraged staff to sign up for Twitter, to engage in blogging, and provides a site that allows everyone to follow the banter, filtered by conversation about Zappos, and conversation by Zappos employees. First of all, this type of transparency is completely foreign to me in my capacity at work (although I'd love to get us there!)

One day, I posted this tweet: I wonder if someone @zappos would be able to recommend a good comfy pair of shoes for while I am learning to walk again. Anyone?

The next thing I know, I get a direct message from Tony asking me to email him with what I am looking for and he'd have a buyer contact me with some suggestions.

So I did.  And then he did.  I got contacted the same day with a list of about 10 pairs of shoes that fit my criteria.  And I picked these: Naot Footwear's Sea. And the best part, I will have them by MONDAY!

Now that's service. I got personal assistance from the CEO of a company whose site I have been surfing for years as I lusted after one pair of shoes or another, but now they have me.  I will be loyal to Zappos!  I have converted from lurker to advocate.  It's the kind of story that just warms the heart of this geek girl!

Special thanks to @zappos, and @ghardy.  And Twitter!

Reflections on a month of social media overload

As the period of time known as "my time off" from work winds down to a close, I've been thinking about all that I have accomplished. While I planned to knit, read, watch a ton of movies, relax, wind down, catch up and more, I've pretty much done just a few things.

• Wake up every day and move to the couch
• Log into Twitter, my Google Reader, my email, Facebook, Flickr
• Check my Blackberry
• Log into the work server

Once I got through the painful, vicodin fueled fun of the first 10 days, I made sure I kept myself on more or less of a regular schedule, that I got up and got dressed and cleaned up every day (once I could take a shower, the best thing in the world!), and that I was productive.

I really did mean to do more.  Somedays it was all I could do to just get through my email every day.  I meant to work on some strategy documents, planning stuff, policy stuff, justifications, and more. 

But what I did do that was really satisfying was just as rewarding and productive:

• I wrote in my blog more regularly than I have in a while
• I connected with some really amazing people on Twitter, namely @SavvyAuntie, @ToThink, @Skimbaco - three amazing ladies with fascinating things to say
• I followed the phenomenon that is @zappos and the incredible use of Twitter and social media to engage both customers and staff
• I tweeted with my Twitterpeeps (@kahunapacheco, @carlospeep, @ilikeTurtles, @melonhead, @meHeatherD, and @viapress)
• I spent a lot of time thinking about what I do for a living, what I do for fun, and how I can merge the two (either by bringing my fun stuff to my current job or by monetizing my fun stuff)

What does this mean?  Not sure.  Still processing, but I have had the physical break from work that allows me to be in a different space, to let some of the stress of projects and workload and team dynamics and recruiting and training fade away.  I remember when I came back from Mexico last year, I was totally in another zone.  I was mellow for a few months (and that eventually faded away). I think I will go back to work with a new perspective.  I'm ready.  I miss it.  I miss my staff (Web Team Rocks!) and the crazy ICU (shout out to the Internal Communication Unit!) and my geeky work pals.

Conclusion: The social media world is a lot like high school.  You have to wade through a lot of egotistical maniacs, know-it-alls, bullies, and idiots to get to the cream of the crop.  But when you click, you click.  I learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And I hope to contribute to to the good stuff out there.

But in the meantime, I'm just a girl with a blog.

  

A new start for my right ankle, among other things

A fresh new booty,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

Today marks many new beginnings. One for Barack Obama as he breaks the strings with that psycho Reverend Wright. One for Neil Diamond who got introduced to a new generation of music lovers (better start for him than Andrew Lloyd Weber) on American Idol. And one for my right ankle.

In the ongoing saga of my ankle surgery, I had my 5 week follow up appointment with my podiatrist. I scootered into the brand new clinic facility at Woodland Health Care. That place has been transformed beyond my expectations! I absolutely love every doctor I have had since I have been there, and I am lucky enough to have found great doctors for Blinky, for my evil ankle, and everything else that ails me, but now this place puts everyone in one facility, on one floor, in a completely modern setting. And the materials are absolutely beautiful. I hope Woodland's finest citizens treat this new facility with respect and appreciate the fact that we have this gem in our community. I guess I have to send this post over to them. They need to know how lucky I feel to have gotten excellent care throughout all my MRIs, my surgery, and follow-up.

So when I saw Dr. Starkweather, who is a rock star himself, he said my ankle looked great and was barely swollen and he gave me permission to start trying to put some weight on it. And start walking with my boot, with crutches, and gradually shifting weight on it. Woo hoo! I am back to walking (sort of -- it's slow going)!

I asked about driving, and he wasn't quick to say it was okay, but my husband chimed in that I need to learn how to drive with my left foot. (Friends from DMV and law enforcement -- please ignore that statement). Poor Rock Star Doc sat back and watched Mike and I go back and forth because I refuse to drive with my left foot. I told the doctor "I'm a rule-follower" and everyone who knows me is nodding right now. He shook my hand and said he was glad. So the answer is - I have to be comfortable slamming on the break before I will drive. We'll see how that goes.  That poor guy must think we are nuts.

I also have to do some heel raises while sitting with my foot on the floor. I tried a few of those today, but my foot doesn't remember how to move. My left foot had to remind it. This is HARD, so I'm going to try to be patient.

Before we left, I asked about how much longer I'd be in the boot, because Das Booty's velcro was getting a little worn out. And moments later, I was delivered a fancy new boot, now dubbed Darth Booty, the second generation of fancy footwear for me. This one has less gadgetry (sans air pillows) but fits very snugly and feels much more supportive, especially since I have lost some of my muscle in my calf (yes -- figures you lose freakin' muscle and not a blob of lard).

So, with my new black boot firmly in place, we scooted out, not to return for another three weeks. At that point I'll know more about formal PT.

Within a few minutes, we were out the door, back in the Prius and on the way to the Post Office to pick up mail. And what magically appeared? Daniela Barbosa, the rockstar of the semantic web, sent me some stickers for fancy decor of Das Booty. Now with Darth Booty, I had to figure out a way to get the awesome Data Portability sticker attached, and I did the best I could, but when I get back to work, I may have @iLikeTurtles hook me up with some professional cutting (great to work with real artists!). As a bonus, Daniela through in a sticker pack from the Yahoo! developer group or something, so you'll soon see some other stickers adorning my armour. Thanks again, Daniela!

So keep posted on the progress. It was a wild day, and I feel like while I still have a road ahead, the worst is behind me now.

Hello Kitty Booty

Hello booty,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

I thought adding a Helly Kitty sticker would add a touch of whimsy to Das Booty. Now that I have had Das Booty for almost 2 months, it's stinky and the velcro is wearing out. All I can do to cover the stench is add more stickers. I wish I had some scratch and sniff ones!

Tomorrow I head to the doctor to find out when I can walk again, and when PT starts, and what's what with my ankle. I am so ready to go back to work (I know I'll regret putting that in writing at some point!).

Anyone have any good sticker resources? I probably have another couple of months in Das Booty.