It was time. I have been on my job for a year. My boss told me when I started that we would talk about a raise after 90 days. This never happened. I didn’t mind because a few months after I started the job I received a large profit-sharing check. With my salary and profit-sharing I was making a good salary for my first professional position. But that was then…this is now. I want and need a raise.

I decided I would approach my boss (since he hasn’t ever uttered a word about a raise to me.) I spent two weeks doing research (thankfully there’s the internet) about the average pay for a position such as mine. I talked to friends “in the know” and I checked want ads. Once I determined the amount of raise that I wanted and a salary that was “fair” according to industry standards, I began making a list of all my accomplishments during the past year (there were many).

Continue reading "Time for a Raise?" »

Posted by Emily Prysby at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I’m a power freak! I like being in control at all times. My husband knows this and most times he hands the reins over to me. (Unlike me, my husband can “go with the flow.”)

My “power/control thing” even goes with me into the car. I need to do the driving. My husband doesn’t mind. He drives long distances daily for his job. So whenever possible I do the driving. Short or long distances, I do the driving.

My car is equipped with cruise control, but I rarely use it. Pressing the switched for this option, I believe, takes away my control. The few times, usually on an open stretch of highway, when I’ve tried using cruise control, my anxiety level increased to an uncomfortable level. The cruise control is driving the car and NOT ME! This thought forces me to slightly hit the break and release the cruise control. Okay! That worked. I can go back to using cruise control. I try again, but again the anxiety begins to creep in. Forget it!

Continue reading "Being on Cruise Control!" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I believe in being spontaneous! It’s fun to just get-up-and-go and do something when the spirit moves me. Luckily, my family members have this same carefree spirit. We have had some wondrous adventures over the years because of our group spontaneity. We have learned the hard way, however, that some things are better when planned.

Some years ago—the kids were in their early teens—we decided one early Saturday morning to get into the car and head off for Niagara Falls. We would drive the four-plus hours and investigate the many offerings in this touristy area in Canada. There were hundreds of motels in the area. There would be no problem finding accommodations…or so we thought!

In great spirits we arrived at our destination. Our first order of duty was to find lodgings. We went from one motel to another. No luck! It didn’t take us long to discover that the Falls was host to a number of conventions that weekend. No problem! We headed across the bridge to Buffalo. We’d be more successful on the American side of the Falls. Right!? Nothing was available on that side either. Back to Canada we went determined to find some place to stay.

Continue reading "Somethings Take Planning" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I’m not a drinker (of alcohol that is). I don’t like having appetizers before my meal. I have learned the hard way over the years that these personal tastes can often prove (and have) a detriment, especially when I join others for a restaurant meal.

As has been customary with my lunch/dinner companions, splitting the bill is the way to go when the meal has ended. But wait! My diet cola is usually in the one- to two-dollar range. Alcoholic beverages, especially these days, cost a great deal more. My cola is refilled for free; the cost of alcoholic beverages is added to the bill each time they are requested. (And with my family and friends, there are multiple requests for drinks!)

These same drinkers—and it seems to be everybody I know—also like to have an appetizer or two or more to go with the first drink they order. I usually refrain from these added calories because I don’t want to spoil my appetite for the main meal. (Besides my menu selection already costs a mere fortune.)

Continue reading "Fair Share, Please!" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s time for most of us to put away the summer wardrobe and bring out the fall/winter clothes. I hate this job because I have far too many clothes. I have yet to learn to rid my wardrobe of those items that I will “someday” wear.

I just loaded up the couch with more than 100 short-sleeved summer T-shirts, 47 long-sleeved T-shirts, 37 summer sweaters, 28 pairs of Capri pants, 12 light nightgowns and 21 pairs of sandals and summer shoes. (The couch serves as the first stop to the storage containers in the garage.) Mind you…I didn’t even wear a third of these items, yet there they are stacked on the couch waiting to be exchanged for my winter wardrobe stored in the vast number of containers that fill the garage floor. (Thirty years in this house and a car has yet to be parked in our 2 1/2-car garage!)

To be fair, I did find a few items that managed to make it to the give-away pile. (I always feel guilty about having so much when there are so many who have nothing!) But my “charity pile” is so sparse that there isn’t even one outfit for a needy person.

Continue reading "Wardrobe Excess!" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thank God it’s September and the kids are back in school! I was one of those mothers who uttered this proclamation when my kids were school-age. I wished away the month of August hoping for the first day of school to arrive. I made a similar proclamation early into the holiday season when the kids were overly excited and underfoot. Now I’d love to have my three kids around and underfoot.

I learned the hard way to not wish my life away. Too often over the years I wanted to just “get through” or “beyond” whatever was going on at the time. I wanted to get to the next level.

When my kids were babies I couldn’t wait until they slept through the night. Then I couldn’t wait until they crawled. Then it was walking…then going to school...then graduating from high school. I often looked forward to the next step without totally appreciating where my kids were at a given time.

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Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)