Life After The Third Divorce: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Do More Great Work Book And How It Looks For Me

Do More Great Work.
Not busy work.
Not even good work.

More great work.
Work that brings you creative satisfaction.
Work that makes you feel accomplished.

That's generally the idea of the book by Michael Bungay Stanier which my daughter gave me to read when I visited her for Match Day in March in NOLA.

I read it while visiting. And the book got me thinking.

What is it that I do at my job that I consider great work?
What is it that I do in my spare time that I consider great work?

I, of course, know the answer to both of these questions.

I love a good challenge. So any Excel project (or other 'how do I do this and that on computer/iPhone'? category) questions get my brain going.

About 10 days ago my big boss gave me a project to build a tool which will help our senior managers forecast sales volume easier and more accurately. I recognized my great work right away and started building it.
Spreadsheets quickly started multiplying almost out of control.

Have to stop and think and make a list of things that need to be done consecutively, otherwise, it will be a struggle. I learned this lesson long time ago - while making clothes for people back in Russia.

And the challenge is: how do you guard your thinking time for your great work? The interruptions are there, of course - and all of them are good work, which I am paid for. They are putting fires out, for the most part - but, like I said, I am paid for it.

So, some crazy idea came to mind - how about I will set up an auto response in outlook sending people a message that I am out of office for a day? No, I will be actually in the office, just not working on anything else, but the forecasting tool project. I might just try it.

It is a whole lot easier to make time for my great work outside my job. It has nothing to do with the forecasting tool project, but everything to do with the skill I use to work on it. Yes, you got that right - Excel, of course!
So far I have an Excel course published on Udemy and a YouTube channel devoted to Excel Tutorials.

Here are the videos listed based on popularity. Enjoy!

1. Excel: How To Break Data From One Column Into Two Columns In Excel 2010

2. Excel Tutorial: How To Remove #N/A From Spreadsheet With Excel VLOOKUP Results

3. Excel Tutorial 2013: How To Create PDF Files Using Excel 2013

4. Excel Tutorial: How To Attach A PDF File Into Excel File

5. Excel Tutorial: How To Use Second Copy Of The Same Excel Workbook - Turn Mistake Into Useful Feature Working In Excel.

6. Excel Tutorial: How To Separate Two Words Into Two Columns In Excel 2013

7. Excel Tutorial: How To Create Exact Copy Of Your Excel Spreadsheet - With No Formatting

8. Excel Tutorial: How To Use Hyperlinks To Connect Two Locations In The Same Excel File.

9. Excel Tutorial: How To Update Info Without Formatting Excel Spreadsheet

10. Excel Tutorial: How To Use SumIf Formula To Summarize Your Excel Reports

11. Excel Tutorial: How To Copy By Dragging Without Recalculating in Excel

Thursday, July 24, 2014

How To Change Your Name On Real Estate Tax Bill

What does name change on real estate tax bill has to do with life after the third divorce, you might ask.

Simple. Everything!.

Yes, I did it - I took my ex's last name when I married the third time.

Come to think of it - I did that all three (3) times! If you ever did that - you know how much hassle is involved.

I found out today, that the last piece of paperwork, the one which affects my tax refund (or balance due) turned to be a nightmare of it's own kind.

No, you can't call the assessor's office and ask them to change your last name on the account as it used to be.

Well, at least here, in Fulton County, Georgia.

Yep, used to be - you fax them your divorce decree, they change your last name on the tax bill so you can claim your real estate tax on your income tax return without any anticipation harassment from the IRS.

Now you have to file - wait for it - a new Warranty Deed even if the one you currently have on hand has the same name you currently have.

Did not make any sense to me either when I first heard it on the phone.

Did not make any sense to me when I heard it about 10 times while kind ladies (VERY kind ladies) at Deeds and Records explained to me that it's the only way to handle it.

Can you believe it? So I, the Grantor by name of Larissa N. (changed THAT back in February to Larissa F. but who cares?) gave me the Grantee Larissa F. the right to the property. For $0.00.

Went to the Law library on the 7th floor (kind ladies from Deeds and Records suggested that, given I already took 1/2 personal day to handle this) - typed (well, should have just typed instead of editing existing template - could be MUCH faster) up the Warranty Deed, went back to the kind ladies, got the paper notarized and witnessed, checked for accuracy one more form the kind lady filled out for me (that is for assessor's office, so they would just change the last name already!), paid $12 at the window, got my receipt, looked at my watch and and yes, noticed that it was over 2 hours - the maximum allowed time at the parking meter.

I know - I did not tell you the horror story of being given a run around from the records to the assessor's office two times before I finally met the very kind ladies. THAT is the explanation of over two hours time frame for the whole deal.

So, I get to my car and what do I see? Yes, a ticket for a parking violation!!!!
Here it is:

I was 21 minutes late. Paid for extra 30 minutes at the meter, because there's just no way I will chose to pay this ticket. Right, I did fill out request to dismiss the citation - very glad this can be done online.

So, if you managed to gather what exactly you need to do to change your last name on your real estate tax bill after you get a divorce - good for you.

My personal preference - NEVER change my last name again for whatever reason. I seriously doubt that I will get married EVER again. Three times is really enough. I think.

PS I thought you might be curious how my Scion IQ looks like - here she is! And I don't think the whole ordeal today had anything to do with me falling asleep only at 2AM, then taking my blood pressure and anti-inflammatory drugs twice - short day today felt like a Friday. Yes, I know July 24th 2014 is a Thursday.

What a day! Do not change your last name. Just don't do it. Especially if all your Citizenship paperwork is in your current name. I've learned my lesson. Never again. Nope.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Scrub Cap In Mardi Gras Pattern - How To DIY Tutorial

I went to join my friend at a pool party last Sunday. And decided to check out fabric store near by afterwords. What do you know! - I saw a beautiful pattern which just begged to be made into a scrub cap.

Want a printable pattern?

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(You will get scrub cap pattern files printable on letter size paper and A4 size paper and instruction file. All sales are final, no returns.)

Here it is - step by step - now you can make one just like it yourself:

NOTE: Click on pictures to enlarge them.

You will need:

Paper to make the pattern – all measurements are in inches
9 inches of cotton fabric – standard 44 inch width
39 inches of bias tape
3 inches of elastic band
Black and orange thread

Follow the steps below in exact order:

1. Wash, dry and iron fabric before you start cutting – it will shrink

2. Make your paper pattern according to measurements below:

Want a printable pattern? Email me at larissa.fontenot@gmail.com.

3. Cut your pattern out, fold your fabric so you have two layers under the side part of your cap and single layer under the top of your cap.

4. Use hot iron to fold the bottom of top part of your cap first one time, then the second time to create a tube for elastic band.

5. Use straight stitch to make a tube for elastic band.

6. Cut 3 inches of elastic band and attach a safety pin to one end of it – next step is to secure elastic band inside the tube of fabric.

7. Stick elastic band safety pin first into the fabric tube and move it toward the other end. When the end of elastic will align with end of your fabric tube, secure it with a pin.

8. When your safety pin is out of the fabric tube and the second end of elastic band aligns with the end of fabric tube, secure elastic band with a pin.

9. Once both edges of your elastic band are secured with pins, remove safety pin.

10. Fold the top of your cap part in two length wise, find the middle and mark it with a pin.
Then fold the side part of your cap in two width wise, find the middle and mark it with a pin.

11. Put the top of cap part and the side of cap part together face to face and align the middle pins. Pin top part and side parts of your cap together in that point.

12. With side part of your cap being on top, pin it to the top part of your hat. Pins should be ¾ of an inch apart.

13. Use straight stitch ¼ inch from the fabric edge to connect the top part of your cap and the side part together – side part is on top. Pull pins out before they reach the needle. Use your fingers to hold fabric in place and together.

14. When you finish the straight stitch, flip the cap over, change settings to zigzag and stitch around the top of hat – keep your needle on the fabric.

Do zigzag stitch all the way around the connection of top and side parts of the cap, then use hot iron to iron the seam toward to the side part of your cap.

15. Starting at elastic band, make a decorative finishing stitch along the seam which connects top part of the cap to the side part of your cap.

16. Use hot iron to fold edges of bias tape so they interlock and folds are hidden

17. Find middles of the side part of your cap and bias tape and mark them with pins. Now pin bias tape to the side part starting with the middle pins.

18. Starting at elastic band, pin one side of bias tape to the side part of your cap, pins should be ½ inch apart

19. Now you are ready to make a zigzag stitch along the edge of bias tape. I use zigzag stitch to ensure my seams don’t break when my surgeon pulls on ends of cap in a hurry.