Things I Accomplished Yesterday:

- I discovered that, when I'm out of the office for a day, I get a lot of freaking email. Most of it, luckily, was stuff that didn't require a response, and was merely sorted into an appropriate folder for future reference.

- I did my mid-month administrivia, including entering records into my database, sorting and filing two weeks' worth of papers, and writing up a status report.

- I managed my underling, including giving her a task to do (and requesting a charge number for her to use on it) and nudging her in the right direction when she got stuck. Also, I nagged her to fill out her timesheet, because we were audited not once but twice in the last quarter, and the home office has shaken their finger at us most sternly for lax timesheet practices.

- I made photocopies of my underling's year-end review and year-begin goals forms (both of which she signed Monday) and gave one copy to her, kept the other copy for my files, and gave the originals to HR.

- I filled out a schedule for the Big Audit that will happen in March, and discovered that it's not actually a sure thing that I'll have to travel for it. Worst case is that I'll be away for two days; best case, I'll get to stay here and do my participation via teleconference.

- But I applied to get my Corporate AmEx reinstated anyway, just in case. (New policy is that we have to make all travel arrangements through AmEx. Mine had been cancelled because I never ever use it.)

- I exchanged some emails with the person organizing the schedule for the Big Audit, to request that she move one meeting, and to clarify a few other issues.

- I started to do a task for one of the home office people, then realized I wasn't sure how much information she wanted, so I exchanged some emails with her.

- I wrote down everything I could think of that has to be done before the end of the month on stickynotes, and plastered them on my wall. Then I realized that some of them had been done already, and threw them away.

- I sent mail to the GM for the 7th Sea play-by-email game I'm in.

- I got about 800 words written, putting me solidly into the very last chapter of The Willow Bough. When it's done - which should be this week or next - it will be the very first novel I've ever written on my own. I really should decide how I'm going to end it, soon.

- I laid out seven pages of my wedding scrapbook. And realized I need to go to the supplies store before I start laying out any of the honeymoon stuff.

- I made dinner, and didn't whine about doing it. (Though it wasn't very good, because I forgot that cooking rice with tomatoes makes it cook slower for some reason, so it was still very, very al dente when I served it. Oops.)

- I avoided having an afternoon snack. Though I did have a tootsie pop left over from the Valentine's party for dessert.

- I made lunches for Matt and I for today.

- I read about six bajillion books to Penny. Or, perhaps, the same three books, two bajillion times each.

- I talked to the Pampered Chef lady, to decide on our menu and jot down the grocery list.

- I read two books to Penny while I was on the phone with the Pampered Chef lady and working out the menu and grocery list.

- I gave Penny about twenty gazillion kisses and hugs, and made her laugh.

- I got Penny to go to bed without even a whimper.

Things I Should Accomplish Today:

- I need to do that task for the woman at home office.

- I should spend some time prepping for the Big Audit.

- I need to update my schedule for the Big Audit, since I got revisions in this morning's email.

- I should at least try to get started on our taxes.

- I want to do some work on Willow Bough - at least an hour or two.

- I want to do another few pages in the wedding scrapbook. (There's lots left to do before I have to stop and go to the supply store.)

- I should try to avoid having an afternoon snack today, because the scale had no love for me this morning. (The trick here is to stay busy.)

- Make dinner, clean the kitchen, make lunches, blah blah blah.

- All that stuff with Penny that I did yesterday? Going to do it again today, if I'm lucky. Except maybe the part where I was reading to her while I was on the phone. But you never know.

- And all the other crap that always pops up just when I think I might be able to actually get everything done in a day that I want to get done.

--Liz