Snowing at My House!!

Unbelievable!!

Had a Little Cry Yesterday

When I cleaned the pantry yesterday I found a jar of blackberries dated 2008 that Mom brought out to me in May 2011 when she and Dad drove out. I had known it was there, but it still broke my heart and I still couldn't throw it out.

And, for the first time in my life I bought a store-bought quilt yesterday, this one to go in my red room.

http://www.countrydoor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=65249&categoryId=993&pCategoryId=6653&gpCategoryId=2105&productVariantId=205557&prefixCode=NI

When I saw it in the catalog, my automatic first thought was to show it to Mom and talk about making a similar one.

I had just realized that the quilt Mother made that I have been using is wearing out and I don't want it to. I remembered how on my last trip home before she was sick, over July 4th 2011 (I had flown from Sacramento, suddenly feeling so homesick I couldn't stand it), she and I had talked about making a replacement for it similar to one I spotted in one of her quilting magazines.

I have been so spoiled, haven't I?

One of my dreams after I got back from Christmas this year was a sobbing one, where I had become completely overwhelmed and awed, talking to and clinging to Dad, by all of the wonderful things Mom had made for me over the years, all of the gifts, doll clothes, doll beds and blankets, pajamas, sweaters, school clothes, scarves, hats, mittens, and yes, many whole quilts for me, Drew and all of the Jolleys, and in my dream I just couldn't get my head around the hugeness of it, and was just bawling, bowled over by how big it was, how much it meant, and how I could never live up to that much love if I dedicated the rest of my life to it. That's the miracle of a mother's love. I have been blanketed with it.

Cool, eh?

Interesting news - I received a notice from LinkedIn congratulating me that my profile was in the top 10% nationwide in activity level over the last year. Cool, eh?

One of the Good Ones

Yesterday my boss at Maricopa had kind words for me in our staff meeting. He wished me well in my new opportunity and said, "You're one of the good ones, so if you ever need a reference, just let us know."

"One of the good ones" means so much to me, because I've seen a range of consultants and they certainly can be terrible. Wearing the "consultant" label doesn't ensure that a person is hard-working or even pleasant. I actually was chosen for this job over another candidate who had more technical qualifications, but they "liked me better". I've seen some be rude or condescending to top executives, spend most of the day on the phone talking to India (maybe getting help because they don't have the basic competencies), or just be careless with details because they know they're moving on and no one will know the difference.

I'm not one of that sort.

Sky Over Tucson: Optimistic

Here's a shot of the beautiful sky over my house today.

All optimistic here. I accepted a new job with Sagacious, an all-Epic consulting firm. That's the name of the software I use. It is full time with bench pay and benefits like my first consulting job was, only these are really awesome benefits. And I will get certified and have a great peer group to work with.

Maricopa hospital in Phoenix offered me a fulltime remote job there, but although the work is good and the people are nice, the pay was abyssmal.

My first assignment will be at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles where I worked during the time Mom was sick. I ended up liking it there and made a lot of friends I will be glad to see again. I actually brought the Cedars business to Sagacious because Cedars needs help and wanted me back. That will be for 6 months, commuting 4 days a week, then on to the next assignment.

Yippety skippety! On to my next adventure.