Have just spent about 1/2 hour working on my computer at work….from home!!! Installed a program at work called ‘Log Me In’ that allows me to remote access my work computer as well as the database on our server from my home computer. This is really good (and kinda bad) ’cause I can now do everything and anything from home that I would do at work. The good part is that I can do some account reconciliations for the audit from here at home in the evenings and on weekends. I have so little ‘free’ time available at work to do this kind of stuff, so I’m actually looking forward to being able to spend some uninterrupted time here at home getting caught up on some of this stuff.

Additionally, I can now prepare and send payroll from any computer anywhere, meaning I can be more flexible with my vacation time. For the past 10 years I have had to schedule my time away from the office to coincide with payroll. Now I could feasibly take time off anytime, provided I have access to a computer and internet hookup. This is a HUGE relief as I have always worried about what would happen if I got sick or had to be away when payroll was due. For over 10 years I haven’t missed being at work to do payroll. While I’m proud of that record, it’s been somewhat scary knowing that I’m the only one on staff who is adept at getting out the paychecks twice a month for over 70 people.

I know it sounds weird that I’m happy about the probability of taking on additional work from home but, in the long run, it will make my life much, much better. I no longer work for private clients so doing some additional work from home won’t be all that bad. It won’t be all the time. Just when I have special projects like this damned audit that’s been hanging over my head for months. Right now I’ll do just about anything to get this completed and out of my hair!!!

Haven’t reported much on my trip, other than news about Robin. The trip up to Seattle was great and flying out of Burbank was uneventful. Only bad part of Burbank is that there is only one small coffee bar type restaurant. I had planned to eat lunch there and had hoped for something like McDonald’s. Had to make do with some kind of a crappy, expensive salad but at least the coffee was good (Seattle’s Best). Coming home was another story. I got to the airport in what I thought was plenty of time, arriving at about 10:50 for a 12:20 flight. I checked my bags in about 5 min. and then headed for the gate, and that’s when I hit the security line. I waited in a line behind hundreds of other travelers for 45-50 min. just to have my boarding pass and id checked–and I still had to go through the security checkpoint to have everything x-rayed! Made a quick stop at a restroom after clearing security and arrived at the gate just as they were boarding my flight. This was worse than I’ve ever experienced anywhere, including LAX. Next time I fly out of Seattle I will be absolutely certain to arrive 2 hours ahead of time.

We went shopping at Ikea and Costco on Saturday before leaving Seattle. I picked up a few things (of course!) that I brought home. Got a small lamp for the family room to put on a bookcase as well as some kitchen linens, a mirror for the bathroom and the new Barry Manilow cd. I saw lots of other goodies at both places, but most were not even a consideration due to size limitations. Better purchased here where I can haul them home in the trunk of my car.

Vanessa did a fabulous job of taking care of the house and the pets while I was away. I walked into a nice clean house with happy animals that were glad to see me. Patrick stepped in when Vanessa wasn’t there and took Murphy back to his place in the evening. This was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken as far as having no worries about the house and pets. Thanks guys!

The new gardener has been doing a great job. My yard looks terrific! I’ll spend a bit of time outside this weekend doing some removal of plants that have seen better days, but not much else needs to be done in the yard. Amazing! So I’m going to spend part of Saturday getting the front porch decorated for fall and Halloween.

It seems like it’s been months since I’ve had a relaxing weekend where I didn’t have tons of things that had to be accomplished or where I had guests or was traveling. Wait a minute, it has been almost 2 months! While I’d love to be back in Seattle visiting with Robin, I’m glad to have some normal time at home for a change.