Blogging from the road folks. Left poor Chad behind to hold down the fort while I came to Florida with one if my team mates and 4 teenage girls so they could learn to SCUBA dive. Spent most if the day in the car today and I am thankful to finally be here. We are staying at a Boy Scout camp that is our Plan B due to some weather damage at the Girl Scout camp we were going to stay at. Rustic is a good way to describe the accommodations and the cleanliness of the dining hall left a lot to be desired. Thankfully I am traveling with MPT who is a good sport regardless of the circumstances...well, with the exception of the spider she just located in her bed. Sigh. Looking forward to a day at the pool tomorrow.
I want blogging to be a priority because I have loved this little space over the last few years but I just can't seem to make it so. Life has gotten busy, responsibilities have multiplied, and it seems to take a back seat most of the time. I feel like I have to talk all day, make decisions, write about things that when I get home - there aren't many words left.
Wrapped up my last trip to summer resident camp this past Monday and Tuesday with one of our local program partners. I am really proud of this partnership (Co.Starters and the Co.Lab here in Chattanooga...doing some really cool things for entrepreneurs in our city!) and where it is headed for our girls. My team has worked really hard helping them build a youth focused program and we are piloting it with our girls. They seemed to really like it and I hope it is something we can continue to build on.
I have a few days off from travel- though not really off because I've produced four drafts of my department budget and a final one due tomorrow with copious notes. Performance reviews for my team due Monday (which are done and turned in!). And then lots of laundry, cleaning, and packing this weekend for another trip that starts Sunday. I'll be gone 6 days this time with a small group of our girls to Florida to learn to SCUBA dive. (Thankfully, this will be my last long trip until October when we go to Utah for our GS National Convention.) The whole following week is training for our new computer system so I'm feeling a little "no rest for the weary" at the moment.
I've been asked multiple times if I am going to SCUBA with the girls in Florida. I am taking my gear but I might not dive. Frankly, I would relish a 30 minute nap while they are under water and someone else is responsible for them. :) I will post pictures so check FB and Instagram. Mom, I will email them to you.
I am mid process for writing my second departmental budget. This is one of the most challenging, exhausting, and stressful things that I do in my role as a supervisor/team leader. I am not great with math and trying to predict the future is also not my strongest suit. I want to make decisions that won't hinder the work we want to do over the next year but I also want to be a good steward of our financial resources. Making decisions in July that you have to live with until September of the following year is hard! However, it is rewarding. I am learning new skills that can transfer to other areas of my life. I am letting my team take pieces of it this year so they learn how to put a budget together as well. I am a big believer in building a team that learns a lot of aspects of a job, including how to do mine in case I'm not here one day.
In addition, I'm leaving for another 3 days at camp tomorrow. I need to be spending the day working on a budget that is due the end of next week but 3 days outside, away from my computer is probably just what I needed. Our second and last big event for the summer and we can start planning for fall. Yay!
