Happy Halloween!

A spooooooky salutation for you and yours! Wow - Halloween 2005 already. This year has really flown!

Here are our Halloween pumpkins before we carved and painted and painted them...



And here they are in their decorated and fun-tastic glory!



Hope that you and yours had a frightfully fun Halloween! We had a good time trick-or-treating, giving out candy, and enjoying a fun evening with Grandma and Grandpa. Little Erin looked SO ADORABLE as a devil, complete with sparkly bright red shoes, red pitchfork, red purse (she HAD to be stylish, ya know?). and bright red horns! :)

I'm Home...

...and I couldn't be happier about it!

Longer, more informational post to follow.

It's Just Five More Days, Jen...

OK, here we go again. Pardon the mess, folks. Watch it - there's my suitcase! And please don't mind that towel and blanket on the floor. Gonna put that in the washer as soon as the dresses in there get finished. Yep, you guessed it...I'm packing...YET AGAIN...(*le sigh*) I am so incredibly tired of all of this travel. I'll be so glad to see this week end and to be back home with my family. I fly out tomorrow to Indianapolis, and I hope with all my heart that it's the last time I have to travel (for work, anyway) for a long, long time.

Fair warning, friends...your Jennifer's not feeling very minty fresh tonight. OK, I won't lie. I'm a crabapple. I'm dreading traveling, I haven't studied in days and I feel guilty as hell about it, my ass hurts, my back hurts, you name it. And, God love my dear husband, he burned one of my Longaberger baskets tonight and destroyed it, the protector, and the liner. I've had this basket (the "Salt And Pepper" basket, now, unfortunately, retired) on our stove for AGES. The "Fruit Medley" liner so adorably graced my sweet little basket, with it's adorable little "Heritage Green" salt and pepper shakers inside. Well, folks, the entire sha-bang is retired...basket, liner, protector (duh), and salt and pepper shakers. Retired. Unavailable for purchase. Off the primary market. To say that I am displeased about that is a huge understatement. I know he didn't mean to do it (God love him, he was trying to be a personal Emeril Lagasse for us and make us a yummy dinner), but I'm still a bit sad. I think I'd be a little less grouchy about it if my entire lower half didn't ache like hell (where the fuck is my Extra Strength Tylenol?). Growl.

On a happier note, today was our neighborhood's Halloween party for the kiddos. Erin was ADORABLE as a little she-devil, complete with floofy red skirt, bright red tights, sparly red shoes, and a pitchfork! She won a set of cupcakes in a "Ghostbusters" cake walk, and enjoyed a spooooooky story about witches and their potions! It was a cute little get-together. It was very well-attended, given that it was an outdoor event on a THIRTY-SOMETHING DEGREE DAY. Zoikes, it was cold out there! I sure hope it warms up a bit before Halloween night so our little devil can be out and about and comfortable on the trick-or-treat path!

I discovered an artist today who I really like. Check out Daniel Spottswood! I absolutely loved his comic on the cover of this Lifestyles section of this morning's "The Kansas City Star." Looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

Speaking of artists I enjoy, Jim Brickman had a show on XM Radio tonight. Unfortunately, I just caught about the last half of it. It was great hearing him talk about some of his songwriting pursuits and hearing his music live. He's fantastic. I've liked him for a long, long time. He's coming to Kansas City next month and I am hoping that my husband will get us tickets. I've dropped many a hint, so we'll see. :)

Off to get the rest of my clothes in the laundry (and then into my suitcase). Hope that you all have a fantabulous week, friends. Please remember to LEAVE ME COMMENTS! :)

-Jen

Two Down, One To Go...

Hi everyone. I’m HOME! Momentarily, but home. Just for a second, but home. This has been such a hectic month. Travel, brand new personnel system, continued BRAC worries, discontent with my job in general, studying for an exam I’m worried I won’t pass, shall I continue? So far, I’ve been gone for two weeks and I’m off again Monday for what I hope to be my final week of travel for a very, very long time. Hope that you’re all doing well.

Last week, my boss and a colleague and I went to our Columbus site for some very in-depth training on the new personnel system slated to roll out for the DoD agencies “very shortly” (exact time unspecified at this point). About 500 HR Specialists throughout the “fourth estate” (translation: Army, Air Force, Navy, and Defense Agencies) were all in attendance. Because I’m on brain overload and really would rather discuss anything BUT this new system, I’ll keep my commentary short. All I’ll say is that it’s exciting to be part of this discipline at a time when it’s changing as much as it is. This is a system whose time is long, long overdue. The folks from Air Force that I talked with have been under a similar system in a pilot demo for quite some time, and it was interesting to hear of their successes and struggles. This will be a challenge…it’s changing everything that we know about our way of doing business, and it’s changing everything that the DoD civilian workforce knows about how it is managed and compensated. With BRAC looming on the ever-approaching horizon, I am not certain how much of this I’ll really see. I’m still actively looking for other positions, and a lot remains to be seen.

Next week, I’m back in Indianapolis for a review course for the PHR exam. To say that I’m not ready for this class (this TEST!) is the understatement of the century. Why is it so hard to buckle down and study? Even in the rare moments of peace and solitude that my busy life affords me, I’m often so stressed out or exhausted or just too damned lazy to crack open the books. If being gone so much this month has been good for anything, it’s been good for forcing me to study. Quiet evenings alone in a hotel room with take-out food, a highlighter, and my PHR books. We’ll see how next week goes. I truly have vacillated back and forth on all of this. I go from periods of certainty (“This will be a snap! I’ll pass it - no problem!”) to complete panic (“I am going to fail this test for certain!”). One of my colleagues from our Indy office stopped me in Columbus last week and asked me to come and see her next week when I’m in town. She recently sat for this test and wants to give me some insight and help, which is very greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I suppose I’ll keep plugging away at my studies. Continued well-wishes from you, dear friends, are certainly appreciated.

I snuck away from personnel systems and PHR books long enough to check out an AWESOME yarn store in Columbus! Nice, nice stuff, folks. If you’re in the Columbus area or plan to be in that area, definitely check it out. The felting bug is biting me something fierce, and I bought two skeins of a very gorgeous 100% wool yarn called Noro Kureyon that I’m dying to crack open and try out:



I’m itching for a cell phone cozy or small purse pattern that I might try with this new yarn. If you’ve got any tips for new felters, please send them my way!

I cracked open my Patons Canadiana and am working on a scarf/hat/mittens set:



Let me simply say that this yarn is a delight to use. It doesn’t split, it flows between stitches with ease, and this shade (called “Stained Glass Variegated”) is just beautiful. I’m not quite finished with the scarf and hat yet, and, as you can see, I’ve yet to start on the mittens. But I wanted to show you what I had so far.

While I was gone, I got a wonderful RAOK from The Knitting Diva!



What a wonderful surprise to come home to! The BOO stitch marker is adorable! Many, many thanks to Angela for the Halloween treat!

Speaking of Halloween treat, tomorrow is our neighborhood’s Halloween party for the kiddos. Erin’s looking forward to it!

As if all the excitement wasn't enough, my tooshy STILL hurts. Yes, four weeks later, my proverbial pain in the ass continues. Although it's nowhere near as severe as it was, it still hurts me to sit still for a long period of time, and it's not as easy to walk up stairs as it was before I fell. I spoke with a nurse, who thinks that I probably broke my tailbone. She said that it's common with falls for people to break their tailbones and not realize it. Unfortunately, medical technology hasn't evolved to the level whereby broken tailbones can be fixed rather easily. My instructions from my friend the nurse? Don't sit for long periods of time on hard surfaces (NO...you THINK??????) and take pain medications (my Extra Strength Tylenol and I are on an intimate basis) and follow up with a physician if I'm still in pain in eight-to-nine weeks. EIGHT TO NINE WEEKS?! (*sigh*) Delightful!

I’m off to enjoy what’s left of my time with my family before heading off to Indy again. Hope that you all have a great weekend and a wonderful week. Oh, and LEAVE ME COMMENTS, folks! Let me know that you’ve dropped by! (Thanks so much to Keri for dropping by and saying hello!)

Learning And Training And SMEs, Oh My!

Greetings from the land of HR OVERLOAD, my friends! Your heroine, Jennifer, has spent her day enmeshed in the intricacies and details surrounding human resource development (not to be confused with human resource management, which, according to the fine folks responsible for the PHR test, is something vastly different). Instead of enjoying her day off (thanks, Christopher Columbus!), she spent the day trudging through information on the ADDIE Model and Vestibule Training and Robert Brinkerhoff and his six stages of learning program evaluation. Yes, friends, while her colleagues and other locals were enjoying the gorgeous fall Kansas weather, your Jennifer was drowning in a sea of learning...learning ABOUT learning, nonetheless. It's a safe assumption that she's exhausted, tired, on overload, and ready to stop typing about herself in the third person...

Hi everyone. Yes, I'm insanely exhausted. And overloaded with more information about learning styles, training development, and subject matter experts than I'd care to be at this point. I am the ANDRAGOGY QUEEN (no, not the ANDROGYNY Queen, you sick weirdos!). I am actually proud of myself for sticking to my guns and readingreadingreading today when I wanted to crochetshopsleepandrelax. Is it a good thing to be glad to be going back to work tomorrow? Waitasec...I've got a DD-1351 and two more weeks of travel and the beginning of a developmental assignment to our Delegated Examining Unit awaiting me. Never mind...can I just go to sleep?

Wow - talk about disjointed thoughts. Kudos to you if you're still actually reading this blog and not closing your browser window saying, "What the hell is her problem?"

How's everyone? Hope you're all doing well. The house is yummily-scented of oatmeal raisin cookies (which I baked for a colleague between chapters of needs assessments and Donald Kirkpatrick's book on "Evaluating Training Programs") and I am happy. Nothing really new or exciting of note to share with you, but what the hell...why not stop in and say hello every so often, right? If I'd only do that more often, perhaps my blog would actually stay current and you fine folks wouldn't be unhappy with me for the v-e-r-y l-o-n-g lags in my posts!

Hmmm...what can I share that's important and not about human resource development/management? What to talk about, what to talk about...well, it's come to my attention that my poor Little Star Afghan is fatally flawed and that there's not much else I can do with it now but rip it out and start over. After ALL THAT WORK. (*Sigh*) I was so proud of myself for how well it looked...which is true if you overlook the HUGE GAPING HOLE in the bottom of the star. I really appreciate the help and support of the wonderful ladies over at Crochetville, who are trying to help me figure out where in those stitches I went wrong. I actually tried last night to start over from scratch (new colors and everything), but that didn't go so well, either. Is it me, or are those directions really difficult to follow? Hmmm. Oh well. I get so frustrated with myself when I make crochet mistakes and can't quite get the hang of where I'm going/needing to be. That's when I just try to relax, set the project down, and agree to come back with a fresh perspective in a day or so. Self-patience has never been a strong suit of mine. Never. I keep feeling like crochet is easy ("everyone can do it") and that I should have no trouble getting it. Well, most people who "get it" have been doing it for the majority of their lives...or at least more than the few years that I've been doing it. If any of you have any tips on how to increase my crochet proficiency while simultaneously decreasing my lack of crochet self-confidence, I'm all ears and would love to hear 'em.

In high school, I was very heavily involved in the performing arts, both musically and theatrically. I was so blessed to have had a wonderful drama teacher, Paris Goodrum, who was so passionate about theater. He inspired his students to love the stage, and his faith in me really helped me to shed a thick shell of self-doubt and awkward self-consciousness. My senior year, I was part of a small group of very fortunate individuals who, for the first time ever, casted and performed a play that he had written. This play, "Dear High School," told the story of a diverse population of students, all of whom attended the same high school. The common thread throughout the differences in the characters is that high school is a memorable time filled with first-time, amazing experiences and memories made to last a lifetime. As the play ended, the old song, "Those Were The Days" by Mary Hopkin, played. That song brings back to me so many memories of that amazing time. And I've always loved it. Just the other day, the WONDERFUL Dolly Parton's new version of the song came up on Napster, and I love it, love it, LOVE it. Great song, great vocal, great performer. Definitely check that out when you get a chance.

OK, I think that's about all the typing I can handle. Sorry for the disjointed, insane post, friends. I am off to take a shower and watch something funny on television. Need the mental relaxation after a day of studying. Talk to you all later!

So, So Good To Be Home

Hi everybody. It's wonderful to be home! Hope that you've all had a great week.

It was a good trip. Busy and hectic, but good. My boss and a colleague and I were sent, along with about 77 other employees throughout our agency, to our Indianapolis office for the first of several training sessions on the new personnel system under which DoD activities will be falling within the next several years. Our agency has chosen to "spiral" (their word) in to the new system sooner than later, hence the need for all of us to rush off and be trained post haste. This new system significantly changes how personnel management tasks are to be accomplished within the Department of Defense. This new system affords management with many new flexibilities in the recruitment, retention, promotion, recognition, and termination of its workforce, which is something that's been long overdue in the Federal workworld for a LONG time. It's exciting, as a personnelist and as a management official, to be a part of something this big and this historical in my field. What scares me is that the human reaction to this so far hasn't been good, largely due to misconceptions, a rampant rumor mill, and a general lack of information on what this new system is and does. So much of it cannot be discussed with our workforce at this time (although any savvy person can go and research the proposed regulations him- or herself), and this silence is, I'm afraid, breeding even more worry and concern in the eyes of our workforce. My greatest challenge in teaching this new system to our workforce will be in handling those employees whose misinformation or general discontent with the system lends them to be angry and difficult students. I don't deal well with negativity and hostility, and I'm really hoping that we'll be given some additional, advanced training on how to handle difficult students in a professional classroom setting. Another big challenge I'm worried about will hopefully be negated by time. So much of this new system is being discussed and finalized. The final regulations, as I understand it, are now before the Office of Management and Budget, later to be turned over to Congress for final approval. We know what the proposed regulations are...but how much will change between now and the time we're slated to teach our workforce? Of course, BRAC is hitting the majority of our workforce simultaneously to this new personnel system, which, although completely separate from it, is a huge concern and source of worry to our folks as well. This is just a challenging time to be an HR employee within the DoD (or rather, ANY employee within the DoD, I should say). While I am excited to see how my field (and workworld) will change as a result of this new system, I'm worried too. As I get more information, I'll feel more comfortable and better able to be the advocate of this system that my agency needs for me to be.

The training we had last week was heavy and rapid-fire, and we all looked forward to the end of each day. We stayed at a WONDERFUL hotel in Indianapolis...one I'd definitely recommend to any traveler coming to the Indianapolis area. Many thanks to Sarah and Bob and the kind folks at the Residence Inn in Fishers. I will definitely be returning to your wonderful hotel the next time work brings me to Indianapolis!

It was wonderful to see Mom and Dad again. I just wish I'd had more time with them. They invited my boss and colleague and I over for a WONDERFUL home-cooked dinner, and we had SUCH a wonderful time together. The women I work with are so special to me, and it felt so wonderful to have them in our home. My father is just generally hilarious, and his stories are the best. It was so much fun just to laugh and be together with good company for good times. The next day, my boss and co-worker, thanks to the fine folks at Flowers By Dick Baker, delivered a beautiful bouquet of daisies to my parents as a "thank you." Nice, nice indeed.

Nice is the perfect word to describe being home. It has felt so good to sleep in my own bed and be with my family these past two days! When I came home, I found two wonderful surprises waiting for me! The lovely Mary sent me a wonderful RAOK postcard and I got my first big gift from my Secret Pal:



What wonderful surprises! Thank you so much, ladies!! Talk about a warm welcome home! And Secret Pal, Erin loved her Uno cards! What a thoughtful gift!!

I've also put together my first gift for my Secret Pal. Here's the card I made that will accompany her gift:



(Stampin' Up products used include the now retired "Farm Fresh" stamp set, Mellow Moss and Barely Banana cardstock, Mellow Moss buttons, and Stampin' Dimensionals. The curvy scissors and markers aren't from SU.)

While I was gone last week, I spent more time crocheting than studying (gee, there's a shocker!) and I've made quite a bit of progress on my Little Star Afghan:



A question for those of you who have completed this afghan...am I doing this right? Look at the bottom. The large gap between the final stitch and the slip stitch to the end of the row is concerning me. Am I doing this right?

On the crochet thread, I saw a wonderful pattern that I am dying to get my hands on. Have any of you ever done the Flapjack Afghan? Is it only available in the "Toast & Marmalade" book? It looks lovely!

I did get SOME studying done last week, thank goodness. I've also established a test date. So now we know...December 12th at 0900 hours is "the day." Please, God, let me pass this test! Rather, please, God, let me get motivated to keep STUDYING for this test so I can pass it! I don't know why it's so hard for me to buckle down and study. I really enjoy the readings when I can set my mind to doing them.

I think I'll go ahead and close up shop for now. I want to spend some quality time with the family unit after having been gone for a week. Talk to you all later!

-Jen :)

Happy Fall, Ya'All!

Hi everyone. Wow, October already. This has been such a fast year! Hell, it's been a fast WEEK! Yes, I know I'm behind on posts. Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, I beg your forgiveness. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Last weekend, I slipped and fell in our kitchen. Given that my posterior end is rather large and padded, I felt fortunate that that's where I fell...and where the emphasis of the impact hit. What I didn't know is that six days later, my ass would STILL be hurting. I can at least walk now, but going up and down the stairs is painful. All this just as I plan for a month of travel. Delightful! Everyone in my little circle has really been taking the initiative to stick it to me, too. "Sorry that's such a pain in your ass, Jen! Huh huh!!" (*rolls eyes*) OK guys, make light of my butt misery, why don'tcha? Enjoy running up and down those steps while I take each one individually and curse ever having gone downstairs in the first place! (Do you suppose that it's normal to have "pain in your ass" six days after falling on it? Could I, literally, have "broken my ass"? Everyone's asked me why I've not gone to the ER for a medical opinion. Although I probably should, the embarassment factor would be huge. HUGE. Like my ass, which the doctors and nurses would inevitably laugh at over coffee in their staff lounge as the discharge nurse signed my papers and sent me home. Nooooo thanks. If I wanted to be humiliated like that, I'd...well, I don't know what I'd do.)

Several hours after my fall, I was doing laundry and not really paying attention to what I was doing. I'd left my cell phone in the pocket of a pair of slacks and, well, let's just say that bad boy is VERY clean right now. Very clean and VERY dead. A trip to see the fine folks at T-Mobile is on today's docket. I can't BELIEVE that I did that.

I've spent more time crocheting in the last week than I have studying, which is bad, bad, and more bad. Work is very low on my "happy place list" right now. I am going to have to travel for three weeks out of this month for work-related purposes, and I am not happy about it. I won't go in to much detail about two of the weeks, but, as I've mentioned previously, that final week is the formal review course for the PHR exam. So anyways, it's off to Indianapolis next week, Columbus two weeks later, and then back to Indianapolis for the last week of the month. My boss and one of my lovely colleagues are accompanying me next week, and Mom and Dad are having them over for dinner, which will be so, so nice. I am so blessed to be close to my colleagues, and one of them is even close to my Mom, so it will be great to just have these people together that I care for and enjoy so much. This same colleague is also a crocheter, so she and I have planned to hit the craft stores in Indy and take them for what they're worth yarn-wise. :)

Speaking of crocheting, I finally finished my "blanket for a very special someone." I've chosen not to reveal this person's name or show any photos of the blanket because it's personal...and this person is someone...well, never mind. I've been yapping about this blanket for ages, so now I will officially shut up about it and say that it's finished. (*smile*) I will tell you that I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease for the blanket, and it worked up beautifully. It wasn't scratchy, which I feared initially, and for a lightweight yarn, the blanket was really warm. Good stuff, folks! Now it's back to my Rainbow Starghan, which I've started and ripped out at least five times now!! I love to crochet in the round, but it's difficult for me. Grrr.

And on the topic of "grrr," why aren't you folks leaving me comments? Please, folks, leave me comments! Wait...let me clarify. If you're actually a reader of this blog and enjoy (or don't enjoy, for that matter) my posts/blog/theories, please let me know! If you're a spammer and are only interested in selling me drugs that lengthen my penis, well, please move on. I'm not penis-inclined, and would never use the Internet to buy drugs to supplement it if I were. Weirdos!

I think I'll close up shop for now. Have a great day, folks!