“Some days you bring the sunshine. Other days, you ARE the damn fire warning.”

Snow, Snow, Snow...

And totally knocking shit off the to-do list left, right and center. Dog rotations have been super fast with the super wet white shit on the ground. LOL.

That, my friends, is literally as far as I got with yesterday's Dang Thang Diaries. I had every intention of sitting down, sharing a little about the snow, the dogs, and how surprisingly productive my morning had been. I was feeling pretty damn good about everything I was getting accomplished, especially considering the day before I'd been sitting here feeling completely BLAH.

And then all hell broke loose.

AGAIN.

The blog got shoved onto the shelf (although the tab stayed open lol), my plans went straight out the window, and the rest of my day was spent dealing with a whole lot of bullshit that shouldn't have been mine OR my team's to deal with in the first place. And wouldn't you know it, the very same nonsense decided to make an appearance again this morning. Apparently some people just aren't satisfied with testing my patience once. LOL.

So today, I've decided that somewhere between doing shit that AIN'T MY FUCKING JOB, fixing things that never should have needed fixing, and knocking a few more things off my own to-do list, I'm making time to finish this damn blog.

And let me tell you, the energy has definitely shifted.

We've gone from Tuesday's BLAH, to Wednesday's snow and productivity, to Thursday's full-blown INFERNO.

Strap in, folks. Because I'm feeling a little spicy today, and apparently somebody forgot to read the warning label.

Now, before I get too far into today's adventures, I want to celebrate something pretty damn special. Yesterday was the official ebook launch of Where the Crabapple Blooms, written by two incredible women I've had the privilege of working alongside, Argie and Jan. Tomorrow is the paperback launch, and I am STILL so damn excited for them! This book has been such an emotional journey, and being asked to write the epilogue is something that still gets me emotional when I think about it. These women have poured their hearts into this project, sharing memories, love, loss, laughter, and pieces of their lives that deserve to be treated with care.

Unfortunately, what should have been a beautiful launch week has also turned into an absolutely ridiculous amount of unnecessary stress. Last night, after the ebook launched, some errors were discovered. Getting that phone call from one of the girls absolutely broke my heart, not because mistakes can never happen, but because I could hear how upset she was. This was supposed to be a moment of celebration, not a night spent worrying about problems in a book she'd worked so hard to bring into the world. So I told her to go to bed, bought myself a copy of the ebook, and started going through it. And guess what? I found more issues. So now I'm playing editor, reviewing the ebook and trying to catch anything else that might have slipped through, while watching my typing and notifying the person who can actively make the changes. Is that my job? NOPE. Am I doing it anyway? You're damn right I am, because these women deserve to have their work presented properly.

But here's where the temperature really started climbing. This morning, I found out members of my amazing team were being spoken down to and blamed for problems that, from everything I've seen, were not theirs to begin with, and being made to adjust landing pages I & the girls have fully approved. And THAT is where my patience officially packed its bags and left the country. I have an incredible team. These are people who show up, work hard, care about what they're creating, and regularly go above and beyond for our clients. Lately, they've been building, rebuilding, correcting, and redoing work that could have been completed properly the first time if they'd been given the right information and the necessary steps had been handled in the right order.

It's that whole cart-before-the-horse situation that drives me absolutely insane. You cannot expect people to build something properly or according to "YOUR VISION" when they haven't been given the information they need, and you certainly shouldn't turn around and blame them when they have to redo the work because information was missing or steps were skipped. Yet here we are. Because we care about our clients, we're getting it done, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with how it's happening. There's a big difference between taking responsibility for your own work and being expected to absorb responsibility for everybody else's. And treating the people who are helping you like they're the problem? That shit doesn't fly with me, especially when it involves people I care about.

Now, I'm not turning today's blog into a public naming-and-shaming session, although believe me, the temptation has been REAL. LOL. There are clients involved who deserve to enjoy their accomplishments, and there are things that need to be handled properly rather than blasted across social media in a moment of anger. Doesn't mean I'm not angry. Oh, I'm fucking FURIOUS. But apparently today's anger has come with a complimentary productivity upgrade, because my to-do list is getting absolutely demolished. Emails are being handled, problems are being addressed, and I've got enough fire under my ass to heat the entire house without touching the woodstove. Although I'll probably need to light it again tonight. LOL.

And speaking of people testing my patience, I also decided today was a fantastic day to give the security company another piece of my mind. Because apparently three weeks of unanswered emails and voicemails is supposed to be acceptable? Yeah, no. Not today. So they got to hear from me too.

At this point, I'm thinking I need a permanent sign on my office door, or maybe right at the front gate of our property. LOL.

CAUTION: CURRENTLY SPICY. DO NOT POKE.

Maybe I'll just change the warning level depending on the day. You know, like those fire danger signs that tell you whether the threat is low, moderate, high, or extreme? Except instead of forest fire danger, we'll have a Niki Spice Rating. LOL. Can you imagine pulling into the yard and seeing the sign sitting at EXTREME? That's your warning to turn around, go home, and try again tomorrow. Or at the very least, show up with coffee and a damn good reason for being here!

The funny thing is, Tuesday I was sitting here feeling completely BLAH. Wide awake, no motivation, wondering whether I should light the woodstove and seriously considering crawling back into bed with Moo. Wednesday started off with snow, fast dog rotations, and a surprisingly productive morning before everything went sideways. And today? Well, apparently the universe decided to swap out my low-energy setting for something with a little more horsepower. Not because everything suddenly got better or the problems magically disappeared, but because I'm tired of seeing good people put in difficult positions, tired of watching avoidable mistakes create more work for everyone, and tired of seeing moments that should be celebrated overshadowed by unnecessary stress.

And somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, I'm still incredibly proud of what we've accomplished. I'm proud of Argie and Jan for bringing their ebook into the world yesterday and getting ready for tomorrow's paperback launch. I'm beyond words proud of my team for continuing to show up and do the work, even when circumstances make it harder than it needs to be (seriously I wish I could reach through the screen and give them they biggest hug or show up at their house with a giant cake or SOMETHING). And yes, I'm proud of myself for continuing to push things forward, even when I'd much rather be spending my time on projects that are actually supposed to be on my desk.

But let's not pretend I've got everything under control and I'm floating through the day in some beautiful bubble of peace and positivity. I'm not. I'm irritated, I'm protective, I'm busy, and I'm editing a book I wasn't supposed to be editing. I'm still wondering how many more people are going to test my patience before the day is over, but I'm also getting shit done. The snow is on the ground, the dogs are making record time outside, the ebook is out in the world, and tomorrow we get to celebrate the paperback release.

So if you want to celebrate something wonderful today, go check out Where the Crabapple Blooms. These women have created something beautiful, and I refuse to let the chaos surrounding its launch take away from that. As for the rest of today's adventures, we'll see what happens. Apparently I've gone from Tuesday's low-power mode to Thursday's full-blown INFERNO, and somebody really should have put up a warning sign. LOL.

Let's go Do the Dang Thang!