Women I Admire

WOMAN #1: Gail

Last weekend, the hubby and I drove up to Gail's lake house. She was having some work done on her dock and had to fire the crew because they were making little progress.

Gail is a no-nonsense kinda gal. We've known her for years through my husband's job. In fact, she was his boss at one time. If Gail faces a stumbling block caused by someone else, well, dammit, she'll just do it herself.

Gail seems to do everything well. She originally studied to be a jeweler but after graduation, decided to go back and get her degree in engineering. She's now a high-ranking engineer with an oil company. (Who still makes jewelry, by the way.)

She's a gourmet cook, has an eye for interior design and sews whatever she can't find in a store. She also took up carpentry along the way.

And so, of course Gail knew her way around a table saw and an electric drill. She became foreman to Greg, the crew. While the dogs looked on, the two of them tackled the arduous task of rebuilding the dock:


Gail's dog, Chase, kickin' back with Henry.


"Damn, I still can't get down the stairs! I'd looove to chew on some of those boards!"

Henry found a bit of shade:

There's Gail's other dog, Khaki, in the background.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling sick and was pretty worthless all day. Look at how pitiful I was:


Those tireless dock builders worked all day, until the light was almost gone:



Then they got up and did it all again on Sunday, while I bravely took care of my cold:



WOMAN #2: Chicken & Waffles

Because I respect her privacy, I'll use her online name, post NO photos and reveal nothing about her private life.

*crickets*

Hm...so...like...how do I write about her?

Chicken & Waffles is a woman I look up to. (OK, I didn't give anything away there) She lives a fast-paced life, doing a job...that...uh...I think it's safe to say that she's a Senior Vice President with her company. Hello? Did you hear me? SENIOR Vice President.

She churns out brilliant blog entries that would take me all day to write and does all these things while looking perfectly put together from her well coiffed hair to her smartly appointed shoes. I'm gonna go curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb now.

I admire a lot of women, but these two have been on my mind as of late. They're special and they inspire me to try a little harder and dig a little deeper. And they do it just by being my friends.