Week Three

I can't believe how quickly the last three weeks have gone by! It's already the end of Week 3. It seems like just the other day I got the news I needed to pack-up my office.

One of the nicest things about being home is being able to spend Thursdays with Shaun, who has Thursdays off. Last week the weather was BEAUTIFUL and we went for a picnic and bike ride. Our bike ride ended up being way longer than we intended. What was supposed to maybe be a few miles turned into FIFTEEN (yes, 15!) miles. We were WIPED OUT after that. And, my butt hurt for a few days. :)

This week the weather was not nearly as fabulous. Pretty crappy actually - cold and raining. So, we slept in - or tried to and had a slow morning before I had a phone interview (yea!!!). Then it was off to lunch, go see NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN and take care of some other errands.

So back to the phone interview. It's for a position with the Vermont Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society doing event planning for their fundraising events. The job sounds fabulous and I'm hoping I get a call for second round of interviews, which will be in-person during the second week of June. Keep your fingers crossed!

Okay, I think that's it for now. Next week I'm headed over to The White Face Lodge in Lake Placid, NY for a few days. I'm very excited to see my old boss/friend Melissa who is the Director of Sales & Marketing at the resort. Unfortunately Shaun is stuck here but he's a good sport about it. :)

p.s. I saw this image the other day and liked it so saved it for one of my posts. I think it's kinda funny and definitely something to keep in mind as I'm looking for my next adventure in the world of careers. :)

Stupid utility companies

OMG, what is with the utility companies around here?!?!?!

Last week we got our water & sewer bill. Granted it said it was an estimate but it also said the actual meter reading should be more than their estimated amount. Well, it wasn't. It was LESS than the estimated amount. Luckily when I called they recalculated the bill and we get to pay about $55 less.

Now I'm on the phone with Comcast. I just paid a bill last week and their system is telling me I'm overdue by almost 3 months!! Turns out the payments have been applied to my old account at the last house and I have over a $200 credit. Grrrrrrr - I could use that $200 for something else right now but I guess the cable/phone/internet is paid for for awhile.

First week down

So I've almost made it through my first week at home (it's not 5pm yet so can't call it complete). It went faster than I thought it would. I made a lot of good contacts with people and am feeling better about it all. It has been nice to go to Jazzercise everyday and get some things done around the house.

This week I've tried to clean-up around the house focusing on one room at a time. I started with the kitchen but it's a mess again. I think that's because we use it so much. Oh well. Today I'm going to tackle the bedroom but I don't think I can bring myself to organize the closet. I cringe everytime I walk in there but seriously, that is a rainy day project and the sun is out today.

Next week I'm going to get acquainted with all the crap in our basement. I'm going to organize it into KEEP, TRASH and SELL piles. Then the KEEP pile will get organized, the TRASH pile will get taken to the dump (need to find it - I've never been!) and then the SELL stuff will get listed on Craig's List or eBay. I know there's a lot of clothes down there too so those may go to a consignment shop. I am not looking forward to that project so hopefully the weekend will not fly by too quickly.

If all works out I may not have to play in the basement too much. Next week I may be going over to Lake Placid to do some work for my old boss who now works for The White Face Lodge. After almost 5 years of using the catering software we used at Topnotch, I know it pretty well. They use the same program at White Face so Missy asked me to come train her new Sales Coordinator. Woo hoo!

And the other big news is that the old HR Director from Topnotch also emailed me. When he left Topnotch he went to the local hospital as the HR Director there. A few months ago he left the hospital to be the HR Director at a resort down in Georgia. He got my email and said if I wanted him to he'd email the person who took his position at the hospital and see if she'd meet with me. She said she'd love to meet me so now I'm just waiting for her assistant to call and setup the appointment. I would love a job at the hospital so that was exciting to have Ron help me make that connection.

Okay, I need to jump in the shower, tackle the bedroom and then go see if I can find a waitressing or bartending gig. I think that even if I find a full-time job soon, I'll still work on the weekends during the summer since Shaun will be working so much. Might as well make some money while I can and not to brag, but I was a darn good waitress and bartender; and, I always enjoyed it! :)

Visiting Gracie

I finally got to see Grace Elizabeth Lawrence SEVEN MONTHS after she was born. I can't believe how big she is - it's so hard to believe she was born two months early. I was not surprised how beautiful she is - I mean common on now, her mommy is a hottie! :)

Speaking of her momma, here's a pic of me & Lauren from this weekend.

Gracie is super attuned to the camera. It's probably because her Lauren has been taking pictures of her since she arrived in this world. She hears a camera click and she looks immediately for it. It's so adorable.

For Lauren's birthday/Gracie's baptism I made a book of all the daily emails and pictures that Lauren sent out when Grace was born. I surprised Lauren with this book during our visit.

Unwrapping the book...Reading the inscription...Realizing what it is... Showing Gracie the book...Here's some pics from the evening - getting ready for her bath, cuddling with mommy after her bath and Lauren with her girls - Skyla (the cat) and Gracie.

Erin & Andrew's Wedding

Erin & Andrew's Rehearsal Dinner

Here's some pics from the rehearsal. Well, really the dinner...

In a good place

UNEMPLOYMENT UPDATE: So it's Day 3 of my unplanned vacation. I'm in a much better place than I was on Monday. I'm feeling more positive about things and really feel like things will work out. I got some good replies from the mass email I sent out so that was really reassuring.

I've decided the best thing to do is make the best of it. I'm trying to stay in a routine with going to Jazzercise, doing Wii Fit, looking for jobs, cleaning the house (1 room a day! LOL!) and trying to enjoy the weather. I might even see what kind of webinars I can take online to keep my brain working. :)

I also have to admit that I'm really looking forward to spending tomorrow with Shaun since he has Thursdays off. I feel kinda bad that he doesn't have a day to himself, but it will be nice to have some time with him.

OTHER STUFF: I talked to Rachel today for the first time in awhile. It was so nice to chat with her. She told me her mom is going over to South Korea and then to Bali with her. I was SO excited to hear that. I know Rachel is psyched to see her mom and it makes me super happy she gets to. I just wish I could make it over there at some point.

One funny thing that worked out well with losing my job is that I bought tickets to a Kid Rock concert as a surprise for Shaun. I wasn't sure if we'd make it since it is during the US Open but I figured we could always sell them. Now it looks like we can go ourselves. Yippee!!

I know I still need to post pics from the wedding and Grace's baptism. Of course the dryer and the dishwasher just beeped so I'll go take care of those and then try to jump on here and do that. Since I'm going to Jazzercise tonight, I also want to go for a walk this afternoon. It's about 70* out so I'm going to soak up some Vitamin D while I can.

Another update

So I was planning on posting pictures from the wedding and baptism we went to this weekend but those will have to wait - I'm not in the mood at the moment. I got laid off this morning so now I'm jobless. I picked up the paper on the way home and have been online looking at the classifieds since I got home. There's not a lot out there but I'll find something. For now, I'm going to take a break from the computer - I have a headache. I'll post pictures later but if you hear of any good jobs, let me know!

Erin's Shower Cake

Erin & Andrew both love Star Wars so for her Vermont bridal shower invitation, we got a little creative. We used the same image as an edible photo for her cake. The graphic designer did such a good job that when Erin's mom first looked at it, she didn't realize that it had Erin & Andrew's faces instead of Princess Leia's and Hans Solo's.

A Day at the Park

A few weekends ago I joined the Hoppes at Oakledge Park. Not only did I get to hang-out with them, I got to snap some shots with my new camera. It was so much fun to use them as test subjects! :) Here are a few shots that were my favorites.

The Hoppes

Oliver - ready to crawl
Anna running Anna excited

Abby & Oliver laughing