Merry Christmas!

It's 2:22 on Christmas Day as I write this. Christmas has so far been a lovely, laid-back day.

Chuck, Melanie and I took Nick to visit his other grandparents yesterday -- a day spent in the car for the most part, long and tiring, but worth it for what we accomplished.

I love our Christmas. Tonight, we'll go to Melanie's house to celebrate Michael's birthday. A few years ago, he offered to cook his own birthday dinner with British foods, and that quickly became a holiday tradition. We will celebrate our formal family Christmas in a couple of days. I find I can always procrastinate making the home-made gifts that are part of that celebration to the last minute, no matter when it occurs.

Gotta go -- work to do, fun to have. Merry Christmas to all.

Writing

I've written a small book called "Miss Brown on Leadership: 13 Common Sense Principles to Increase your Effectiveness." (Miss Brown is the psuedonym of my dog, a Chocolate Labrador Retreiver otherwise known as Nestle)

The book is a lighthearted look at the people skills my experience tells me so many leaders don't cultivate adequately or make use of often enough. They always have reasons, usually "I'm too busy," or "That stuff is a waste of time." But my own personal belief is that businesses everywhere suffer as a result.

I hope to publish the little book using Lulu, and post it here on this blog. It's been a learning experience for me, so far, and will continue to be, I'm sure.

I continue my Right Management work seeking another job. I have two great resumes now, one focused on communication, the other on organizational development. My next task is to build a self-marketing plan, and so far, I'm procrastinating nicely!

I enjoyed dinner last week with three friends from my former work. I loved being with them, but listening to them gripe about things they experience made me glad I was no longer there.

10 inches of snow blankets the ground outside. It's been bitterly cold. Nothing is lovelier, though, than a Miscanthus Sinesis (ornamental grass) with its base covered in snow. I've enjoyed looking at mine when I go outside for a brief foray into the deep freeze.

The woes of procrastination

Winter roared in this weekend with a constantly changing storm that included sleet, ice, snow, rain, fog and wind. My huge pile of ground up leaves in my yard -- intended to be piled on beds and around shrubs and other plants for winter protection and soil enrichment -- is now frozen, making it much more difficult to work with.

Other undone jobs: hoses and tools to put away, winterizing roses, cutting back peonies and more. I'm hoping for a warm spell so I can get outside and get these things done!

It's so easy to procrastinate when it's warm and cozy inside!