A Time For Everything

I work from home each Tuesday and Thursday. For as long as I've been doing that, I've worked from Sonshine's old room/DH's home office because there's a nice desktop and two monitors which, I confess, I'm spoiled for now--especially when doing the day job. It's just so much easier with two monitors. I can have browsers and applications open and I don't have to flip back and forth between windows and applications to do things like reconcile bank accounts. I have my bookkeeping software open on one side, the electronic bank statement on the other. Easy peasy.

All I had in my writers room was the laptop and working on much of anything but writing on that single screen was a challenge.

The issue with me working on that PC in DH's office is that if DH wanted to work from home on a Tuesday or Thursday or come the weekend when I have things that just need a desktop and two monitors to work on--like a chapter contest--well, two bodies, one PC... You see the challenge.

So the plan has been to get a second desktop and a second pair of monitors for me and, though it's taken a while--money's been tight, it finally came to pass. I am now able to work from my own office with my big windows and all my stuff and with two huge monitors. DH can do his thing on the weekends and I can do mine.

Another benefit of this is that I'm generally cold-natured and my office is way on the other side of the house from the AC unit, also on the west side and getting afternoon sun, with enough AC venting to keep me comfy but not freezing. :0)

I spent the weekend getting the new PC loaded up and setup with software and browser links to all the stuff I access on a daily basis and tomorrow, I'll be sitting pretty.

I also had to buy yet another dog bed... The dog is where I am. In DH's office, she sprawls across Sonshine's former bed, now her bed, that functions as a guest bed when we have visitors. My office has no such amenities, and sleeping on the laminate floor has to be her choice. I also ordered a window perch for the cat, because, yeah, I'm a sucker for my critters and I like having them around.

Good news! I get to transition into working from home again. If you remember, I'd started working from home back in mid-summer, but got called back to the office to help keep an eye on our new employee. Well, he's no longer with us and so I get to start working from home again.

There's a balance that needs to be worked out, but we're beginning with two mornings from home. That's been a nice change.



I love my husband, I really do, but our personal energies are very different and I'm very much an introvert, so being around people 24/7 wears me out. Being home in my personal, comfortable space helps restore balance to my inner universe. And that goes a long way toward maintaining my emotional health and well-being. I can feel a difference in just the two weeks/three work-at-home mornings I've enjoyed.

Of course, all I have is my laptop now--my work PC had to go back to the office when I did, and until we can get a second PC that will allow me to remote my work PC while it remains at the office, directly on the network, I can only do so much from home. Another reason for the slower transition.

But I'm not complaining. I'm just happy to get the process started.

This past Monday, I started working from home! If you've been reading this blog, you'll remember I mentioned my desire to do so and boss man's agreement. Things had to be put in place, like IP phones that work over the Internet, so that I could still answer the phones. That was implemented several months ago and they work quite well. Next was a matter of reaching a certain milestone--summer fireworks season. Well, that's come and gone too. But we hadn't gotten back around to the conversation.

That is, until the AC at the office went out. Unfortunately, we can't afford to repair or replace the unit, so we've had to put some stop-gap measures into place. But due to the way airflow works, the front office was still getting close to ninety degrees every afternoon. It was zapping my energy and rendering me so sleepy it was difficult to work.

Boss man decided to move me home and our other employee into the back area where it stays much much cooler.

It's going to take a bit of adjustment because my files are still there and the post office box is still in the business park. I probably make a few trips a week into the office to check mail and have meetings and file things.

But being at home, I don't have to dress up and I'll reduce gas consumption.

Here's my work space...


Needless to say, I'm very excited about the change of venue and about the fact that finally one of my plans has come to fruition. With Sonshine not heading out to basic training until end of October and DD's plans of moving out in flux, I feel like I'm in that holding pattern again.

And maybe I just need not worry about them and do what I need to do. Must ponder...

Have a great Wednesday!

So my purse arrived last Thursday! A day early, even, which was nice because I needed a little pick-me-up.


Anyway, I love it. It's a bit bigger than I expected (which is good, considering what I paid for it) and has only one large compartment. There're a pair of small pockets on one side and another slightly larger zippered one on the other, but they aren't really large enough to organize my stuff.


So back to the 'Net I went and bought a purse organizer! The only thing left that I need more than want (that second purse) is a wallet. But I need to work a few more proofing jobs before I can splurge on that.

Aside from the short excitement of the new purse, I feel as if I'm in a holding pattern right now, and I'm not really liking it. I can't seem to get anything done, I can't plan anything, and all I can do is work on the same two major projects and I'm feeling as if they'll never be finished. I know they will, eventually, but still.

DD was supposed to move out soon, but the two houses she and her roommates were looking at didn't work out. So now it's back to the drawing board for them. But you know, now that she's dangled that carrot, I'm ready for it all to be said and done. One more thing I'm waiting on...

My brown-eyed girl is definitely moving and will be living about four hours away by car before March is over. On the bright side, she'll finally get her driver's license on Friday, and once she gets to where she's going, her living expenses will be cut in half as she is moving in with her boyfriend.

Sonshine is a few short months from graduating high school. Wow. I remember taking him home from the hospital like it was yesterday. And what's he going to do with his life?? Good question, he's changed his mind three or four times just this year. Monday he said he was joining the Army since he really didn't know what else to do with himself right now.

We're one step closer to me being able to work from home. The biggest hurdle was me being able to answer phones as that is one of my primary responsibilities. We now have phones that work over the Internet and they're really cool and have some neat features. Unfortunately, one of those huge projects requires me to have access to all our paperwork, which, of course, is all at the office. But I'm hoping that I can start with, say, one or two mornings a week and build up. I think that's a few weeks out yet though.

One of my biggest issues with working from home is going to be distractions. I struggle enough at the office, so I've been practicing keeping my focus on the task at hand. I make a list every day, and I've created a master list of everything I do in general, including those quarterly things like filing 941 returns and the once-a-year kind of things like filing 940 returns. The next thing, I think, is to make a loose schedule and start implementing it at the office before I make the transition.

The celery and peanut butter is working out great so far. I haven't gained poundage back that could be linked to the higher calorie snack (just the other bad choices). I even started making a second set for DH to have. Now if only I could get him to eat at regular intervals.