Ivy says: I used to work with a guy that had a pretty serious drug problem. We had no idea, he had been working for us for a few years when one day he called in to work Luckily, my boss believed in the guy and helped him through his problems, making sure he went … Read more
Ivy says: This has been one of THOSE weeks. The major problem is that my grandmother’s fighting for her life in the hospital, with several different infections fighting with her over 90 year old body. This makes all the other stuff seem small, but when adding in the other stuff, it all becomes overwhelming. We’ve … Read more
Ivy says: My dad and I were talking yesterday about some less obvious effects of the economy being in the crapper. People are freaking out all over the place, but it seems like everyone’s freaking out in different directions. I think this is a hard time for a lot of people, emotionally. After all, it … Read more
Ivy says: Some days, it seems impossible to get anything done. Sometimes it’s for legitimate reasons, like you intended to clean your car out, but you had to take a kid to the doctor and when you got home your dog had shredded every piece of paper in your house and your cats thought it … Read more
Ivy says: I watched Becoming Jane* this past weekend and was struck with one thing. People sure used to be a lot more polite than they are now. They went around bowing at each other all the time and I’m pretty sure if someone forgot a “please” or a “thank you”, they would have been … Read more
Ivy says: It’s interesting how many people I know that had problems with their house getting piley over the holidays and now they’re scrambling to catch up on their household chores and routines. I’m included in that group- I’ve been doing a ton of laundry since this weekend and I still have laundry to do. … Read more
Ivy says: Christmas time always makes me think back to times I’ve had with my friends and family and all the love I’ve been shown over the years- not just at Christmas, but during the entire year. So, this year I’m showing some love to my friends and some other people I greatly admire. First, … Read more
This article about learned incompetence was written 13 years ago. A lot has changed in that time. A lot of what Ivy wrote below is still true today. However, some of the phrasing may not have aged as well. That’s ok. Part of getting older and wiser is learning to do better. As we learn … Read more
Ivy says: So far this morning, I’ve been a hairstylist, a garbage (wo)man, a pharmacist, a taxi service, and a waitress. Welcome to mornings at Chez Ivy. I can’t even tell you what I would give for kids who knew how to straighten their own darn hair. This all got me to thinking, however. When … Read more
Ivy says: While my one grandma is still going strong at 91 years old, we lost my other grandma very suddenly on August 31, 2007. She was 79 years old. As that grandma was part mom, part grandma, and part friend, it was a very deep loss for me. Now I’ve had over a year … Read more