"One obstacle after another", I believe were the words I used when Ice called me earlier at the office to see how my day was going. He knows me well enough by now that when I make statements like that, especially with the tone of voice I was using, that it's best to keep it short and end the call in short order.

Luv ya, Baby!

I try very hard not to sound negative about my job, more specifically about my co-workers. But sometimes......

I didn't attend the last bi-monthly coalition meeting in the city, because of Prissy's extreme state of pregnancy and I had just been there the week before. So.....all's well until I get the packet of information that was distributed at the meeting. In it was an innocent looking little packet that was titled "Application for funding" and had "draft" watermarked across it. So, I examined this innocent looking document and realize that it's for our main funding source and it's due April 3rd!!!

Okay, I wonder where the hard copy is to be obtained, so I email the person in charge who replies with a sincere apology that it was not emailed to us a while back when everybody else got theirs. And she attaches the file. I'm wondering just how long ago I should have gotten this and realize that I only have a couple of days to pull it together to meet the deadline.

Okay, I look the application over and it wants (among other things) number of persons served under certain service catagories for the CALENDER year of 2005 (Everything we do is set up by fiscal year). Okay, I'll get around that....then I notice it wants a separate page done for each physical location... Well, we have five!!!

Now, I realize this doesn't sound all that complicated, and it wouldn't be except for the fact that the state moved our funding from being funnelled thru one state dept to another last year, so we lost our database. Of course, we were put on another one, but it's full of bugs and won't give out reports. So, two of us took training on a new program that accesses the database for reports and it's a friggin monster!!! Besides, it doesn't matter how much training they give me on a database, I'm still lost. I'm database challenged, for sure! Give me a spreadsheet or anything else, but don't ask me to get reports from a database.

Well, sure enough, I dive in and think I can pull this information off in a few minutes.........WRONG!!!! And in the process of printing off what I could get in the report, I find that the main office and the shelter have "always" been lumped together under one satellite code. Lovely! Just lovely!!! AND, I see from the services under certain employees that they're all coded for the main office, even tho these employees do services in several of the locations. And why are the shelter services logged under a satellite location which happens to be in another county that doesn't even have a shelter???!!!!

So I ask why.....I get in response. "Uh...well it's just simpler that way" or "Well, that's just the way we've always done it"

Well, Puppy had em scatterin and scramblin. All of a sudden, everybody had to go to lunch or run an errand or just dissappear somewhere in the building. And Puppy had to go outside for a while to keep from blowing up completely.

After a brief pep talk to myself and two cigarettes later, I was calm enough to finally think of a possible querry for the database. I go back to the monster and plug in the catagories......BINGO!!!! I finally managed to get enough of a report off the monster to at least make educated guesses, which still doesn't set well AT ALL with me.

And my doctor wants my blood pressure below normal....Yeah right!!!

So since Buster and LaQuinta have appointments at the vet this afternoon, I had to just gather it all up and bring it home to finish tonight. Ice and I have another getaway planned for Monday and Tuesday, so it's worth it to get it done tonight and maybe tomorrow, rather than cancel a much needed getaway with my other half.

At least it's Friday, right? And at least I can get on the "stream" and blow off some steam. So yeah, this post is all about just that....BLOWING OFF STEAM BEFORE I EXPLODE!!!

Gee, I feel better already

 

Ahhh, how I love a lazy Sunday!  Ice cooked breakfast for me this morning while I checked on puppies and gave Peanut his medicine (and Colo, I didn't have to tell him either, lol).  Then I tackled the flowerbed (that Ice worked so hard cleaning out for me yesterday) and planted red Salvia from one end to the other.  I expect brilliant red flowers all summer and can't wait til they grow and produce lots and lots of gorgeous flowers.  Since then, the most I've done is sweep the kitchen floor and blog, blog, blog! lol 

Funny how the stream is like a small neighborhood where everybody knows everybody and shares in each other's lives.  It reminds me of the Kincaid print that Ice bought me three years ago of the "hometown" series.  All of you are there in your homes and out in your front yards, waving at me as I pass by and I stop to visit with this one and that one over the fences, or even sit on your porches for a while and enjoy the feel of the community.  It's such a nice neighborhood, so I hope you're all enjoying your Sunday.  I think I'll stroll a while longer and visit some more.....

Pup

"Hometown Memories", the Kincaid print that Ice bought me.

 

Flowers!  Thank you, Iceman!

 

I've had a wonderful birthday. I got two dogs groomed, got to spend quite a bit of time on the "stream", got lots of birthday cards in the mail and one really nice one from Ice that I found by the coffee pot this morning. (He knows me pretty well, lol) He also worked his butt off getting my new flower bed ready so I made a bee line to wally world to get some flowers to plant tomorrow. Then he took me out to eat and we went by the casino for a short while (doesn't take long to lose $20) and spent most of our time watching and listening to the country and western band that was playing. It's only the second time we've been there since it opened two or three years ago. But it was nice to stroll thru and try our luck, then we came home and we're listening to a great playlist....Eddie Arnold is presently crooning "Make the World Go Away". Awww, what a smooth voice. Ice is having a beer and I'm drinking coffee and blogging. He's working on his next edition of "The Rag", so maybe he will get it posted tonight. So I've had a wonderful birthday and the best part is being able to spend it with the love of my life. Life is good here on Schnauzer Lane. Thanks to everybody that stopped by and wished me a happy birthday. Hugs and love to all of ya!!

I've been in the kennel most of the day giving Junior a scalping and LaQuinta (his mother) a much needed haircut.  I've never featured her on my blog, so as usual, I dragged out the camera and went to town taking pictures of our other little beauty.  So here she is folks without any further ado:

You can't live with em....

You can't live without em.

This is the card my Dad sent me from Alaska.  I thought it was so cute, I had to scan it and post it.  He said it reminded him of me when I was little.  When I looked at my hairdo this morning right out of bed, I could definitely see the resemblance, lol.  Thanks to all for the birthday wishes on my previous post!  You guys are wonderful! 

And Happy Birthday to Six!!! 

Thanks to everybody also for all the suggestions for naming our new puppy.  I have them all listed, but I'm gonna wait til she's older and see what her personality is before I decide for sure.  Prissy and all the puppies are doing great.  And Peanut will back to normal in a matter of a couple of weeks.  Doc said not to bring him back unless he has some kind of problems, so that was great to hear!

I'll probably spend most of my birthday trimming Junior and maybe LaQuinta.  I feel bad because Junior's hair on his legs and chest mat very easily and with everything going on the last couple of months, I haven't taken the time to keep him brushed.  So I trimmed his hair short in those areas last night with the scissors, so he's looking pretty funny right now.  I'll get him out in the kennel in a little while and use the clippers to even him out.  I just hate that I have to trim him so short because he has such a beautiful soft coat.  But it will grow very fast and I've learned my lesson about not brushing him, so he will be Mr. Gorgeous again real soon.  Thankfully, he still loves me anyway.

Ice is taking me out to eat tonight, so I'll ponder where I want to go while I'm snippin and clippin today.  You guys have a great day and thanks again for all the birthday wishes.  I've already got a nice case of warm fuzzies. lol

Pup