There's no doubt that by now I've probably lost whatever readership I amassed over the last year. I've been so busy, and everything seems to been falling apart, but the reality is the opposite. The good news is that I'm a milestone-driven person so things are starting to slow down now that things ARE getting accomplished.
Tonight is Back to School Night and I am Chairperson. What's worth doing is worth doing well (thank you German heritage!), so of course, I worked very hard to get everything organized and streamlined. I recruited some excellent help, and they've proven to be SO responsible. I really appreciate it. I tried to pay attention to the little details that make the event easier for everyone and successful for the school. Everything big, like setup and catering, has gone off without a hitch and even the small things like remembering hi-liters and a stapler have been taken care of. We've went through a transition two years ago, and each year since we've been getting better and better at our programs and outreach. BTSN is one of those first impression kind of events that can really set a positive tone for the year.
In addition to Back to School Night, I'm finally done with the school's website! Our old site needed a bit of polish and accurate information, and frankly, I just couldn't take it any longer. So often, I find myself victim to the old "Weeelllllll, we just don't have the "resources" for [whatever]." *Sigh* Ohhh alright...I'll just do it myself then. So, over the last week I've redone and significantly expanded the website (and we've had excellent feedback! yay!).
I think I'm beginning to think I'm one of those 20% people of the 80-20 rule.
If you're looking for a free, easy-to-use template and domain for creating websites for small businesses and organizations, you might look at Microsoft's Small Business Office Live. That's what we used, and I've recommended it to others who have also found success. Dreamweaver and Flash its not, but its easy and you can get a site up quickly that does the job -- helpful information that will attract people and future customers.
School starts on Wednesday, September 3 and I can't wait for it to come soon enough. I've realized that I don't like summer that much. There's an illusion of relaxing warm, clear-skied, summer days, with me sitting outside with my magazines, sipping lemonade under an umbrella. HA! Fat chance. We go from one chaotic event to the next. I like Fall MUCH MUCH better. There's a certain peace that comes with schedules. It seems that as soon as September 1 hits, I want to break out the fall decorations and start planning Thanksgiving dinner.
Before I go, Ruby and Gorbulas have been keeping me busy this entire summer. I can now add "Referee" to my list of job titles. I'm SO excited for them to go back to school. But, there are times when they work well together, have fun, and generate a few laughs. A couple of days ago, they come into my office with the beach buckets and shovels.
"Hi guys! Where'd ya get those?" I ask.
"From the garage! We found the beach box!" she says.
Gorby says, "We're starting a band! And, we're drummers!!!"
"Fantastic!" I say, "Very creative. Good job!"
Ruby says, "Yeah, and we're gonna sit on the sidewalk and play. And then, we have another bucket so people can throw in some money! We're gonna make MONEY to buy an ice-cream from the ice-cream truck!!!!"
Gorby's now jumping up and down all excited. "Yeahhhhh!!!!"
I say, "Wait a sec...you're going to be panhandling?"
Ruby stops and cocks her head. "Huh?"
"Yeah, panhandling. Panhandling is when you sit on the side of the road and beg for money." I say.
Ruby raises her eyebrows, eyes get all wide and she says, "Oooooohhhhhh OH YEAH!!! Gorby! Let's go!!! I can't wait for all the money we'll get!!!!!" and they run off to the sidewalk.
Who knew that panhandling would have such a resurgance in career options? :-)
