Meet the Missus

Here I am at my desk; you may notice that I have the corner office with the view. This is not because I'm the Boss (though the Mister may beg to differ), but because I'm the accountant, and I need some peace and quiet to think. Our office is what was once the Mister's grandmother's house, and the rest of our crew has desk space in what was the living/dining room. The joke is that we manage by eavesdropping, because when someone is on the phone, the rest of the group can't help but hear the conversation. Errors are quickly corrected, and if a topic needs attention, everybody is there and aware of it. But my duties don't include all of those details (though I am welcome to listen and join in), and so I requested a desk in a back bedroom where I can work in relative quiet; though I will confess that I can be distracted by the gorgeous view of the back yard.

Quite opposite from the Mister, I did not grow up living in the same place all my life. In fact, our family moved a lot, though mostly we lived in Wyoming. I grew to greatly dislike the 9 month long bitter winters, and upon graduation from high school, left the state, going all the way to Colorado. I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in accounting, and ended up in Tucson through a network of relationships, where I worked for a national accounting firm and became a CPA. This is where the Mister and I fell in love, and so I eventually came to Gilbert as a newlywed. Other than the fact that I have kept my CPA certificate current, and worked from home throughout my kids' growing up, the rest of my story parallels the Mister's, of course, and so you already know it.

My involvement in the Morrison Ranch office started off with doing basic bookkeeping and bill-paying, and overseeing the preparation of the tax returns and the financial statements. I enjoy doing this (and nobody else in the office really does, so it's a good fit), but my main motivation was to be in on things as they developed. Spending the first part of my marriage as a farmer's wife, I had already adjusted to working with my husband on a daily basis, and I like it. My duties have evolved over the years, and as the kids have been leaving the nest, I've begun to spend more time at the office. I now do most of the accounting, and actually prepare several of the company tax returns (I've learned that there is no problem that can't be solved by forming another entity, but that's a different story). I also seem to be the liason to the Mister if someone wants to try to keep something in his scan over an extended period of time.

And of course, I do most of the posting on the Front Porch, offering you a glimpse into our office, and into the continuing work of building a community. I'm not terribly comfortable being in the public eye, but that's good, because my other 5 office mates fill that role beautifully. I prefer the one on one chats on the porch (or in the oasis!) with a cup of coffee. So if you're ever walking, driving around, or living in, Morrison Ranch, and you see something and say to yourself, "hmm, I wonder ..."; or hear a rumor about something, send me an email. I guarantee I'll do my best to respond.