scout's first ping pong tournament

"i hope they don't go easy on me just because i'm a kid"
- scout gerber, age 9


my company hosted their 4th annual ping pong tournament a few weeks ago.
tables are rented, a food truck brought in and employees and clients meet for a
fun and fierce competition in the back parking lot of our office.


typically i help with the front end stuff, set-up and registration but this year,
i thought it would be more fun to play, especially since both of my boys were
playing.


c has played in it every year and the little guys have come out to watch.
last year, the organizer of the event here from my company, saw scout's
skills and welcomed him to play in the 2016 competition. he was thrilled but
was concerned that people would go easy on him because he was a kid.
{he never wants people to go easy on him...what's the fun in that he says}.


now our family doesn't own a pong pong table.  we never have. what we do
have is a large wood table that we use as one.  a friend of c's surprised us with a
net and paddles about 2 years ago and our kitchen table is used more for games and
pong pong and projects more than for eating on.  the table is not quite as long as a
standard ping pong table and it's a good foot and a half narrower but that might have
worked to our advantage as all 3 of us progressed to the 'winner's bracket'.


we all played hard and if anyone started out going easy on scout, they quickly learned
not to.  he played his heart out and ended up losing to the mike, one of our young
engineers who has won the last 2 years.  im happy to report that he didn't get upset at all.
he played his best and was actually quite pleased with himself. on our way home he
gave me the run down on every match he played and who he will try to beat next year.
some highlights of the day.

scout {age 9} - exp's 4th annual ping pong tournament



valentine's treats

valentine's day celebrations came a day early for my coworkers.
it's now a tradition for our marketing group here in san diego
to bring in donuts on v-day or the nearest work day to it.

this morning, i was up at the crack of dawn to pick up a few boxes
of krispy kreme donuts and a coffee for me {it was early...i needed it}. 
i was thrilled to find a new donut design: a heart ladybug. so cute!!
the employees loved them and tina and i were happy to put a few smiles
on some faces today and to indulge along with 'em.

 

 

 

 

eat.....drink....and be merry

last night was our company's holiday party
and eating, drinking and being merry was what
it was all about.

with the downturn in the economy,
we'd been staying 'in' the office having catered food
brought it, but word on the streets {in the hallways}
was employees wanted something different SO
my coworker, who is part of the 'events' committee'
planned something at this new casual burger joint eureka.

it was exactly what the employees needed.

to mix things up a bit, tina thought a photo booth would be fun
and was it ever. all the employees - young and old loved it.
here's a few fun photos of us girls being silly.

i wish i could share the one of my boss in a green wig but
i really like my job and want to keep it. *wink*

the little guys were at home with bibiana, last summer's sitter.
they hadn't seen her for months, so they were very excited.
from what i heard, they had 'almost' as good of a time as we did.

gosh, there's so much more to post about. 
it's been a great week.  i got to spend an afternoon with my dear
friend jen, my sis leslie and her hubby were in san diego visiting,
and christi, aka world's best nanny to our family,
had a baby GIRL - elsie.  she's so beautiful!!

so many exciting things  - i've been smiling all week.

~ the stress creeped in today as i realized christmas is just 12 days away
and i haven't really started shopping!  amazon prime = my lifesaver 

hole #17

i found this in my draft and thought i'd post.

a few fridays ago, our company sponsored a hole for at a engineering golf tournament and my boss asked if i'd go and sit at our hole and do a little informal business development  - hand out coronas and offer chips/salsa to golfers. i was happy to get out of the office and spend a day on the green. tina and mandi from the office joined me and oh it was a beautiful day.  we went through 4 cases of corona and a few bags of goodies - well not us but the golfers that visited our stop - hole #17. *grin*

in keeping with our 'mexican theme', tina, mandi and i wore sombreros and adhesive mustaches i picked up at michaels.  the guys got a kick out of this and it was alot of fun but we eventually peeled them off because they got itchy.  the girls and i discussed how guys could have facial hair - just seems so uncomfortable. we can't even go more than a few days without shaving our legs!

when our coworkers who were playing in the tourney came by, mandi and i were talked into trying our luck swinging a golf club.  let me know tell you i've NEVER done anything beyond putt putt so i was reluctant to try this in front of an audience as i knew i would be pretty bad. i swung, and yes it was bad.  i  could barely get the ball off the tee.  it made me think about a possible date night at the driving range? i could use the practice and in the very least, c would be entertained!

oh and i must share for those who were wondering if my coworker moved to orlando - NO she didn't!!  *big cheer*. after making a pros and cons list and giving it LOTS of thought, she decide it wasn't worth leaving sd - even if she could get a newer and larger apartment and have more disposable income. she said the thought of leaving san diego made her want to cry. i understood completely. so she's here and happy and well, i'm happy too.

feel good movie

i snuck off to the movies today after work with a coworker to see the blind side. 























i will admit, when i first heard sandra bullock was in it,
i thought 'b movie', and didn't expect much.  i was wrong.
this is by far the best acting i've seen from her yet!
{i couldn't imagine another person playing the part}

the story is based on the real life story of a woman who helps
out a young man in need and their close relationship they build.
sandra plays this sassy and strong southern woman so well.
{she reminds me of one of my dearest childhood friends, robin -
strong physically and emotionally, loves football, and has a heart of gold}

if you are a fan of inspirational, pull at your heart strings type movies,
this is a good one.  heck, eve if you aren't, it's worth seeing.

you can watch the trailer here.

deep breaths

hope is always available to us. when we feel defeated,
we need only take a deep breath and say, "yes,"
and hope  will reappear.
- monroe forester 

closed doors, lowered voices, serious faces -

these have been common at my workplace over the past two weeks.

 times are tough and i know companies are downsizing.

i have been preparing myself - financially and emotionally

in case i found myself unemployed and was just waiting.

that was the toughest part.

final decisions were made today and i lost some great coworkers.

for now at least, i am still employed *sigh of relief*.

my business development coworker in san diego also remains

and we will continue to work hard helping to bring work in the door.

my heart goes out to my friends and coworkers who were affected today

and to those in management who had to make the tough decisions.

i would never want to be in their shoes. it's got to be hard for them too.

i'm keeping those folks in my prayers and hoping they and their famlilies will be ok.

**********

unrelated to work, i should note that the boys and i are all a healthy bunch now.
we had a horrible stomach bug and it was a very real reminder to be thankful for good health -
something we so often take for granted.

we look forward to getting out this weekend and making up for living in our pjs most of the
memorial day weekend. (christopher did end up catching it too poor guy)

back in five

out of my mind, back in 5 minutes.

- my coworker's screensaver

anyone associated at all with business development right now is probably insanely busy!
i can't recall when there's ever been a time in my working life that i've been this busy and this stressed.
i've been getting weekly headaches and my coworker has had stomach problems.
my guess is these ailments are both related to our stress.

this is a rare thing for me so it's causing me some concern.
in order to make it through these tough times, 5 minutes breaks (or more) are in order.
i'm going to remember to get away from my desk a few times a day and take a break.
my health depends on it!

if you are struggling too, hang in there - it's gotta get better! *wink*