And so it continues

As predicted this weeks is really going sideways. Not much sleep, too much work. Brain needs to disconnect ...

When it is too sticky

If you have been following you know last week was pretty much a disaster. This week is totally taking the some path. My client in NYC still has unresolved issues, the involuntary beta in LA is still swimming in rough waters. Sticky situation. All the other case had to be placed on the back burner. Cherry on the cake, one of my team's member got stuck at a site in NYC (a different one) and was therefore unable to take his shift on the on-call roster. Guess who is on call ?? Yep that would be me. Murpff !! I am going to have to find a good heart to take over at least during the day Saturday as we have a day trip planned to Lancaster, PA and there will be no way to do remote support.

Some good news though: Spring is definitely coming our way with temperature reaching 75F (25C) this weekend YAY!!! I know my little one is going to have a great time outdoors with a weather like this. I am going to try to get her summer dresses out of the storage bins I have them stashed away.

Final touches

This weekend was the occasion to put the final touch on a few projects. After tidying up my sewing gear the basement, I finally made the new sheers for the recently repainted living room and matching ones for the kitchen, I also re-appropriate the old living rooms sheers for the master bedroom (out with the cheap ones bought when we were new homeowners with more urgent stuff to spend money on !!!). I'm still not over how the living rooms looks so much better and brighter with something as simple as paint and window treatments.  

In the overdue department, thanks to the spring cleaning dumpster days in the neighborhood, we finally disposed of the last of the old commodes. We recently replaced one in the basement bathroom and never got around bringing to the county dump. Yes all the evil, poorly flushing, water wasting old toilets that were the same age as the house are gone. In their place, brad new water efficient Kohler models that flush properly. 

I also found time to prepare some treats for Easter. My little helper poured the ingredients in the mixing bowl and wielded the cookie cutters for some delicious chocolate frosted cookies. 

After that I made some ganache truffles flavored with Irish whisky liqueur. Yummmmm!! Sinful and heavenly at the same time. 

Beta, did you say beta? I say batty!

My company makes software. The software life cycle goes a bit like this : there is the pre-Alpha version, where not all the features are coded and has usually some serious flaws also called bugs. It's the layout stage. Then there is the alpha version. That usually gets tested internally by developers and internal testers. That's in the alpha testing that the big bugs are fixed and the features are all coded. Once the Alpha version has been stabilized, it changes name. Here comes the Beta. The Beta is still not the final product. But to be able to have all features tested in realistic conditions, Betas are tested in live environment by the end users. The betas testers are fully aware the product they are using is not a final version and is still flawed. They are carefully handpicked and they are briefed on what to reasonably expect in case a flaw, however major or minor,  is uncovered.

So I do have a problem when a Beta gets installed and the customer is not prepared, does not have the right kind of support to deal with everything that can ensue. And I have a problem getting this thrown on my lap with no heads up, no preparation and no support system either. It's a bit like being thrown in the arena with a bunch of growling dogs. You can coax them, cajole them all you want, you are still in a tight spot. Did I mention another customer is going to be installed with that same beta version next week? 

So there is my week and probably next week in a nutshell, trying to make the best of the cards I've been dealt. Putting out fires started by someone else. Running ragged. TGTIF !

From bad to worse

After a pretty nasty Monday, and a really crappy Tuesday, what else than a shitty Wednesday and promise of more of the same for the rest of the week. Thrilling!

Last night I came home exhausted and went to bed at 9pm, and when almost right to sleep, which is pretty exceptional. At least it got to work feeling rested. But then the disaster continued. More cases, still in a tight spot with the same customer as last week and looking like it may drag on to next week. Some more testing to do tomorrow but the master plan is to be executed Friday starting around 4am... Guess who is going to get up at o-dark-30 to do it ? yep that would be me. On the plus side I can invoke that to take off early on Friday afternoon and go shopping to make up for this frustrating week.

A case of the Monday's

Not a brilliant day. Rough time getting out of bed followed by draining day at work with a third day working on the same case. Yes the same case that ate up all of wednesday and thursday last week. Sometimes the frustration rises high. So does the chocolate intake. It's medicinal right ? At least some progress was made and hopefully this will be wrapped up tomorrow. I definitely need to do something else this week. 

On the house front, it was a quiet day. Lots of cuddles with my daughter. She also wanted to read books with me. Lots of books. That's pretty new for her to have to patience to go through one book, let alone 4 or 5. An this time around she let me flip the pages when I was finished reading instead of moving along as soon as she has identified the picture. I'm hoping this is the beginning of more reading together. I like that and I missed doing it when she didn't have the patience to let me.

Out of town

Once a year, I grab my sewing machine, a stack of fabrics and accessories, and off to Delaware. Ladies only. Each of us has an assigned meal that she needs to take care of, otherwise it sew, sew, sew, eat, chitchat, a glass of wine or two, some good laughter, a critical eye, advice, sisterhood. This weekend was THE weekend. I was great as usual. Good food, good company and a lot of sewing done. 

Added benefit: the house is only minutes away from Rehoboth Beach, a outlet store paradise. Yep, the shopping is definitely part of the fun. I have to confess, I have a soft spot for shoes. So this weekend, I got my fix for the season. This visit's loot: a pair of peep toe slingbacks and two pairs of wedge sandals. 

On top of it all, the weather was PER-FECT! One word to sum it all up: HAPPY!

Around the corner

It's really happening. Spring is around the corner. Second day of marvelous blue skies and temperature reaching 70F (that's about 20C). I am so excited. Spring the my favorite time of the year. The days getting longer and warmer, the flowers, people coming out of their "hibernating bear" mode. Soon strawberries season. This morning I took a closer peek at the front yard and they are there ... the daffodils, lilies and other bulbs are peeking out. I'm feeling giddy just thinking about spending more time outside, and soon having meals on the deck or the terrace. Yes, spring is really the best time of the year!

Two words: Jet lag

Rough morning, loooooooooong morning, loooooooooong afternoon. Today, just dragged and dragged and dragged. I kept yawning and had a hard time keeping focus on anything. Once I got home from work I literally collapsed and dozed off even before dinner while cuddling with my little one. Can you say jet lag?? Not much to say about my day except maybe one of my job leads seems to be leading somewhere. I'll find out more tomorrow I'm sure.

On the home front, it seems the cat issues are slowly but surely getting under control. Less scratching, less fighting,  less headache. Eck, even giving the medication is no longer the risky maneuver of the day: incredibly, out cat has decided it was not worth the fight and is now "cooperating", as much as a feline can be qualified as  "cooperating". Overall stress level in the household : way down therefore spirit : way up.

A bit lazy (actually a lot)

This morning I woke up after  a good night sleep at 9:30AM,  ... ahem with daylight saving time that's 10:30AM. By the time I got up almost 11AM. Gee that's already almost half the day gone. No point making big plan. This was the perfect day to be lazy. My day in a nutshell? Folded the laundry while watching a movie, knitted a few rows, played with the princess of the house (we had lunch party with her plastic food and read stories). I did tidy up the basement a bit because I needed the space for a special project I'm preparing, which will hopefully take shape next weekend. 

Hubby and I went to a birthday/fundraiser party at a nice restaurant while our princess was building a giant lego house with my husband's cousin that came to watch her for us. The food was nice but it was a bit too loud for us. Still had a good time. We were back for princess bedtime :). After that I succumbed to temptation: at my husband's suggestion, I watched the episode of Grey's Anatomy I missed this week on Hulu. Then Castle. Then I had to watch Chuck again since I missed a bit of the beginning. I should have never learned about Hulu. I'm catching myself wondering how complicated it would be to hookup my computer to the TV to watch stuff on the big screen at a more convenient time than the regular schedule. I might get tempted to catch up on other shows. This is baaaad. I MUST RESIST! Or is that even possible?