Conversations over Dinner

We’ve been used! Actually, we were held up as examples — in a very positive way.

My son is currently attending graduate school and is also working as a teaching assistant. I never would have imagined that we would become a topic of conversation in his class, but that’s exactly what happened.

His field of study is mass communications and media. His point was that our work — web design and blogging — are fields that did not exist just a short time ago, and we are among a large number of people managing to earn a living online.

The lesson he was trying to impart is that when new technology becomes available, you’ve got to jump on board and find a way to go with it. New jobs are waiting to be invented, new enterprises waiting to launch. We have to keep on top of new media and use it to our fullest advantage!

I’m so proud of my son and all he has accomplished these past several years and, yes, we’re very flattered!

I am a neat person. I wouldn’t say I’m a minimalist, but I come close. I don’t like clutter and I need plenty of open space around me.

I have a nice little work space and mange to keep it tidy, even though Jake keeps my filing inbox full.  When it comes to my computer, things have been in disarray for quite some time. Too much is going on - too many files, too many emails, just too much. I have been unable to accomplish my goals for all the computer clutter.

These last few months have been dedicated to fixing all that. We’ve merged four blogs down to two, for starters. I have been on a mission to unsubscribe to all the emails which serve only to waste my time. I have been through my long list of bookmarks and deleted the time wasters. I have whittled down to two professional networks — Freelancers Union and Linkedin.

I have added subscriptions and bookmarks to the sites which will help me to accomplish my goals. Jake promises to make a new website for me soon, which will serve that same purpose.

I’ve been working on completely turning things around and getting organized is a big step in that direction.

When it comes to feng shui, you can’t forget about your computer!

I only meant to take a short rest period, but ended up in a very deep sleep, causing me to be very late with dinner, but it all turned out well in the end.

It has been a strange few weeks. My MS has been wildly fluctuating on a daily basis, and I’m never really sure where I stand. I was supposed to go back to my general physician this afternoon, to hear the results of a test he ordered. It has been 7 days since the test was performed, but he still does not have the results. Some mixup with the hospital. It never fails — the medical world and I simply do not mix well! Things never run smoothly. We’ll see how this latest snafu ends. Tomorrow I get to go to another doctor and, well, let’s just see.

Jake and I have been busy, each working on our respective career choice. It is good to be busy with something you like.

I hate to admit it, but we will soon be sitting in front of the TV to view “David vs. David” on American Idol. We didn’t really follow the season much, but we got caught up these last few weeks. They are both talented young men, and I’m sure they will both be successful.

Let the games begin!

Nice juicy steaks ended a productive Sunday for us. We lingered at the table and talked of work for quite some time. We have our goals, and we have thrown ourselves wholeheartedly into achieving them.

I had a bad week, physically. Besides the MS acting up, it seemed that every other physical problem I’ve ever had decided to stop by for a visit. It verged on brutal. The funny thing is, my head is in a really good place. I feel inspired and enthusiastic about my future opportunities. I am definitely going to transition myself into a work-at-home situation before MS forces the issue. I am going to win on this one, and that is a wonderful feeling.

Busy, busy, busy. Jake has work lined up for days — which is an entirely good thing! As for me, I am working on three projects at once and have pitched two other ideas. Seems like I’m always on pins and needles lately, wondering which darts I throw out there will stick!

I actually drank wine with dinner tonight, for the first time in a very long while. The fact that I am still awake means that my MS fatigue has let up considerably — another good thing!

Jake and I are working hard at achieving our goals, and now that we’ve made some measurable progress, we are more energized than ever. The coming months could be a time of great progress. Hopefully, I will be able to concentrate more fully on all of that after next week’s doctor appointments.

Dinner was late this evening, due to my mistiming of turkey legs, but it was worth the wait. We had no fresh vegetables, so I had to make do with canned. Now we are off to the grocery store to restock the kitchen.

The buzz over dinner had to do with an exciting proposal I received this afternoon. For the second time since we launched our blogs last August, I have been approached for a writing assignment. This time my article will appear in a national print magazine, and I am honored to have been asked. Naturally, I will share details upon publication in July. Onward and upward.

Dinner at our kitchen table was never so wonderful as it was this evening. After several days out-of-town, staying in one of the world’s worst hotel rooms, home is sweet, indeed! I adore eating out, but after a couple of days, I crave the simplicity of the meals we prepare at home, and the healthier feeling that comes with it. The icing on the cake will be popcorn later tonight.

Jake commented that he appreciates that I light candles at dinner each night. It’s always nice know that the little touches are noticed.

Well, as of Saturday, my son is officially a college graduate and, as of today, he is officially a grad student and teacher’s assistant. I am bursting with pride at his accomplishments. He is an extremely focused and bright young man, and he possesses a most important asset — common sense. His life is in a good place.

Tomorrow morning I am off to the hospital for tests, then on to work for a few hours. As far as work goes, my favorite part of the day 2:00 pm, when I finally make it over to my home computer to work on more interesting projects.

We’ve been engrossed in our own travels and health-related problems of late, but we have kept up with the news. The natural disasters and tragedies which surround us lately give one pause. No matter how difficult life seems, it can always get worse. What you do have can be taken away in an instant. Food for thought.

Monday, May 5, 2008

We had a lovely meal tonight, interrupted in the final moments by a business call for Jake. He is not quite himself today. Allergy season has arrived and his head is all stuffed up and he’s been sneezing like mad. He is paying for the yard work he did yesterday. The allergy relief medicine makes him drowsy, so he is just not in full swing.

Our normally quiet existence has gone up a notch lately, and this week we are actually feeling a bit under the gun. Places to go, people to see, trip to prepare for, and work to be done before that trip.

Sometime in the near future, we are going to have to spring for that laptop so that we are not out-of-the-loop when we travel. In fact, that is the long-term goal. To both have careers which can be done anywhere, anytime, as long as computers are handy. This is the dream.

Romantic Marriage

Well, Jake came through. Three blogs down to one. Between the Blogs, Conversations Over Dinner - Mandy’s Version, and Conversations Over Dinner - Jake’s version, have been merged into one. If you have any of these sites bookmarked, they have all been redirected to the same place, but you may want to update your bookmark to ConversationsOverDinner.com. I think we lost a few previous posts in the process, but most posts from all blogs remain intact. MS Maze remains its own entity.

Today was a perfect day. Sunny with a cool breeze and clear, blue skies. I was fully prepared to put shoulder to grindstone, but Jake convinced me to run a few errands with him, which lead to lunch at our new Thai restaurant. He had the right idea. What a lovely afternoon! When we returned home, Jake went out to work in the yard, while I did some light housekeeping. The MS is acting up, but this particular bout is not following the usual pattern.

I feel I have a lot on my plate right now. Some good, some not. There are some haunting medical issues still to be addressed, some changes with my work, and a trip on Thursday. I am thrilled to say that we are flying out to my son’s college graduation ceremony, which will be held on Saturday. He is all signed up for grad school and will be pursuing his masters. I am so happy and proud!

Monday, April 28, 2008

So here’s the thing. The blogs are out of control and we’ve got to take charge.

Jake has all but given up on his version of our Conversations Over Dinner. He’s just got too much on his plate and has lost the desire to participate. He’s in good company. I hear that 90% of all bloggers don’t last a year.

Between the Blogs has really fallen down the priority scale for both of us.

As for me, I enjoy it all, but there are only so many hours in a day. I still have my regular job until 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, plus the toll MS has taken these past few years.

Some amazing things have happened since we posted our first blogs last summer. My posts on MS Maze caught the attention of The Health Central Network, and I have been submitting two articles per week, for their site, Multiple Sclerosis Central, since December 1. This has had quite an impact on MS Maze, which has become somewhat of a jumping off point to reading my articles at Health Central. Then there is my work with In The Trenches Productions. Although I only blog twice a month for them, I assist them in other ways and exchange communications with them often. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the Women Over 40 blog! It is extremely rewarding.

As a long-term goal, I wish to expand my writing and turn it into a full-time work-at-home situation. I want… I need… to transition myself before MS does it for me. Therefore, I spend several hours a day on honing my skills and trying to catch another break.

So, there we sat at dinner, attempting to work out the details of it all. I think we will end up keeping MS Maze just the way it is. We like the Conversations Over Dinner blogs, but plan to merge the HIS and HER versions into one, and roll Between the Blogs right in. Three blogs down to one, which will allow for plenty of subject matter, both serious and silly, by either of us, with no pressure.

Since Jake is the web guru of our dynamic duo, I will leave this tangled mess to him and he will untangle it in his own good time. Meanwhile, we’re not going anywhere.

Suggestions or comments on any or all of the blogs mentioned are most welcome.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Jake is driving home from the airport at this very minute and, soon, things will fall into the familiar pattern. What began as a gray day blossomed into a beautiful, sunny spring day, but my mood has not matched the season.

MS is rearing its ugly head again, all too soon, which is not helping matters.

I have lost my compass and I just don’t have any idea where I’m going. I’ve got to get this work-at-home thing on track, but I seem to have lost the path. All in good time, I suppose. My fear is that another season will come to pass and I will still be stuck in the same place. My restlessness will not ease up.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Day Two of hubby’s out-of-town trip and I ate a salad while watching “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.” Ah, those old movies I love so much! When Jake is away, it is a perfect time to indulge. Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor really knew how to get through to raw emotion. How grand!

I also managed to repair that small hole in the kitchen wall. Jake will be so happy that I took that item off his list. I enjoy projects that have a beginning and an end.

I’ll probably spend the next several hours here at my computer, trying desperately to come up with new post ideas for “Multiple Sclerosis Central” and “Women Over 40 Rock!” If you’ve got an idea, please don’t be shy with your suggestions.

Don’t miss the five-minute film, “Believe It Baby!” by In The Trenches Productions. You will definitely come away with a smile!

We had some friends over for dinner last night. Had a very nice time, too. They had recently taken a two-week sailing and island-hopping vacation down in the Caribbean and so we watched a DVD slideshow that they had made. Now normally if your dinner guests are bringing a slideshow of their vacation you try to think of places to run and hide. But in actuality, I had asked Mandy to call them to request that they bring the CD. They’re nice folks and they’re very animated when describing each place they visit. Lots of fun.

Something else they spoke of that put a bug up my rear to emulate was their newly purchased bicycles and what fun they’re having on weekends taking them here and there for long (20-30) mile bike rides. My ears perked up because I used to love riding my bike. Still got it too — it’s in the shed, rusting away. But never mind that, now I want a bike. But — there’s always a but, right — there’s Mandy’s MS. Truthfully, when MS flares up, Mandy has no balance. None. Asking her to ride a bike would be like asking her to commit suicide. But — another but — there may be a solution.

Tandem bikes. Yep, those bicycles built for two.

So today we went to the store to inquire about tandems. Par for the course around here, they didn’t have any in stock. But they were nice guys and they did take the time to pull down a catalog for us to look through. We’ve decided that next weekend we’re going to go find a place where we can rent a tandem to see if that type of bike will be a solution to the problem. I can do the grunt work and Mandy, so long as she’s able to at least balance herself, can just kind of go along for the ride. Her legs will have to move with the pedals, but I’ll be doing the work. I’ll let you know how we make out in a future post.

Other than that, not much has been happening. I just finished a big web design project for a Canadian company. The site went live this week and everyone is quite thrilled with the results. With a little luck, that job will begat future jobs. Meanwhile, I’m still involved with trying to teach myself some programming languages so that I can start designing using some of the newer technologies like Air, Flex, etc. It’s coming along pretty good.

So that’s it for now. Sorry for the long time between posts. I’ll try to do better.

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Friday, March 28, 2008

I called Jake to the dinner table and realized that I’d forgotten to make the salad. I placed the oil and red wine vinegar on the table but just forgot to actually make the salad. Senior moment, I guess. On top of that, Jake found himself completely out of red wine. Nice dinner, but it could have been improved.

We’re having friends over for dinner tomorrow night, so I hope that I do better…

Jake’s recently completed client website went live today at last. That’s a good feeling!

Well, we are off to the grocery store, then we’ll cuddle on the sofa for another exciting evening in the Crest household. I’m sure that popcorn will be involved.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Jake seems a little down today. Work was slow and that usually doesn’t agree with him much. It didn’t hurt his appetite any, though!

Such is the life of a freelancer. We both are so busy at our computers all the time, yet it seems we are just spinning our wheels. Patience is required.

Also required: a good night’s sleep. I swear, if the cat of ours doesn’t stop her endless meowing, Jake just might lose it.