I'm Back. I think.

OK, so I tried to consolidate my business social media with my personal social media about two months ago. And you know what? It doesn't work for me.

Maybe it is because I am in my 40s and come from a corporate generation that was taught you dress for the position you want to promote to and maintain a "business" personality that does not include your personal life - therefore, I found myself holding back on some tweets and worrying about wall posts on Facebook being unprofessional. So, I'm going to go back to my split personality.

I am not trying to keep the two "hidden" from each other, but my business social media will include business stuff (mostly) and my personal can focus on gardening, my pets and how challenging it is to parent two boys.

If my customers and colleagues want to read about my personal life, they will be able to find me easily enough, but it will be their choice and not me putting it in their face.

A Fairy Tale

My brother-in-law had a coronary "event" on Friday night. Involved a scary 911 call (my hubby trying to call 911 from his cell phone, all the while trying to drive safely to said brother-in-law's home), an ambulance trip to St. Peter's and emergency surgery. He's back home (only two days later) and is on the road to recovery.

Meanwhile, I'm 100 miles away taking care of my mom and hubby is supposed to be maintaining our business and keeping the 16-year-old boy in line.

Now, this 16-year-old often forgets to wash his dishes (we've taken pictures of his room to document the filth) and most often will not finish his daily chores until you are pulling in the driveway at the end of the day. A typical, teenage boy - right?

As my hubby and I are filling each other in on the events of our day (about 11 pm at night), he asks me, "are you sitting down?" Uh-oh, I think... this can NOT be good news. I sigh and reply, "yes, I'm sitting down - what happened NOW????" And my husband begins telling me a fairy tale about a teenage boy (who looks just like my son) ... and this teenage boy asks my husband, "what can I do to help while you go back up to the hospital?" My husband decides to share his list of weekend "to-do" items that would have gotten done, if brother-in-law hadn't scared the hell out of us with his medical emergency. So, this teenage boy (in the fairy tale) sits down at the kitchen table and makes a LIST - with actual paper and a writing instrument.

Here is the list:

1. take pool pump and items from shed to pool to be setup
2. cut down ornamental grass (from last year) - strong warning not to cut off any fingers while using clippers since both parental units will be many miles away and may not be reachable via cellphone
3. remove plastic from porch windows - this is a big one. It involves eight windows, with four screws per window. A step ladder is required, as well as a cordless drill to remove the screws. Teenage boy is warned that none of the screws can be dropped/lost as they are custom for the windows and would be difficult to replace. Additional warning about the borrowed step ladder and the fact that it is not very sturdy when used near the porch and a fall, thus resulting in an injury, would be a problem (see #2).

Here's where the fairy tale part comes in... when hubby comes home from hospital (about 10 pm), EVERYTHING on the list has been down. No missing fingers, no falls from the ladder, no lost screws and everything has been put away... it is all done.

"You're lying," I tell him, " you are lying to me just to make me feel better about everything else today - right?" "No," says husband, "he really did everything on the list." I am so proud - there is hope for the teenage boy.

Yet, there is no sign of the plastic from each of the large windows (did I mention there were eight of them?)... not in the garbage, not on the ground in a pile - do you suppose he stuffed it all under the bed with his dirty dishes and clothes?

Can you say phallic?

Eight of the world's most unusual plants - I'd plant some of these in my front yard just to see my neighbors' reaction(s). ;-)

Almost a holiday (for me)...

I'm back in Syracuse for the week. My mom left rehab on Saturday - both she and her hip are recovering nicely. The visiting nurse came out today and the only minor concern is that my mother's iron levels are still low. This is not uncommon following blood-loss during surgery and should take care of itself with a combination of the meds and a high-iron diet.

I bought $150 worth of groceries to cook for the week and have plenty to freeze for future meals. We had a fantastic version of chicken milano pasta tonight - yum! Also brought lots of bread from my favorite store back home (read: shout out to Our Daily Bread!) and this week's menu will also include:

• beef barley soup with portebella mushrooms
• turkey rueben sandwiches with red cabbage
• eggs florentine
• white bean soup with spinach
• cauliflower cheese soup
• oatmeal with walnuts and fresh berries
• pecan crusted pork
• Gianelli (hot) chicken sausage with roasted eggplant and wheat pasta
• chicken with mango salsa
• chili (always freezes well!)
• spinach lasagna
• roast beef sandwich with bleu cheese and toasted walnuts
• low-fat frozen yogurt with fresh berries and nuts
• frozen banana slices rolled in dark chocolate and walnuts

Cooking, cleaning, pillow-plumping and a possible run down the Thruway to the casino sounds like a vacation from my normally overwhelming life! :-)

It Must be Spring!

I planted pansies today - I just LOVE the first round of flowers each season. All those bright colors after the long, dreary colors of the winter. And I found some fantastic vege and herb plants at our Agway - they were unloading the truck as I pulled in, so I grabbed a red bell pepper, a pack of spinach, one sweet basil and an amazing strawberry plant. We haven't even turned over the garden yet, but I have everything in pots and on the pool deck, so hopefully everything will survive the local wildlife until I can get things in the ground.

On the other hand, the few asparagus that had come up have been nibbled and chomped already. Damn deer.