It's Friday!! Which means I've made it through my second week here. :) I also got my first paycheck yesterday! Payroll is done in-house, and I found out that they like to give them out a day early. :) Sounds pretty good to me!
I adore my commute, and usually really enjoy having to walk a couple blocks or three from wherever I can find a parking space to the office every morning, since the town is so nice, but last night wasnot fun. It was sprinkling a little bit before 5, but the sky opened up to a torrential downpour just as we all were leaving. My arms were drenched, and I was soaked from about mid-thigh on down. And I was wearing a nice skirt suit. My feet were sloshing around in my shoes, and I was thankful I didn't wear my newest ones. When the rain is blowing from the side, you may as well not even be carrying an umbrella, because you're going to get DRENCHED. :) Ah well, just kept a sense of humor about the whole thing!
I'm the youngest in my new office by 13 years. I found out this little fact yesterday. At my last company, there were a few coworkers that were younger than me, and about 90% of the people there were under 50, including our company president, so this is new to me. :) It's also the first time anyone has ever guessed that I'm younger than I really am, which I guess could be taken as a compliment, but I don't believe I'm old enough to appreciate that just yet. :)
I really, really like it here.
I purchased my first Christmas gift yesterday! I bought something for Ryan that he had hinted about, so I'm excited about that. (can't say what I got, just in case he checks this today) Last year, since we got married December 10th, and didn't get back from our honeymoon until the 17th, we only had a WEEK to buy gifts! Talk about stressful. Before the wedding, I couldn't even THINK about Christmas until after we got back. This year should be much more enjoyable. :) Christmas is my favorite.
Wow, can you believe we've almost been married a YEAR?! Where does the time go?
Well, we've got a few things on tap for the weekend.. mainly sleeping in, shopping for a few small things, and getting a haircut. (me) Church and football on Sunday. :) Should be nice!
Wow, it's busy now. I guess this is why the weeks go so fast. :) Hope you all have a great, wonderful, fantastic weekend!
It has certainly been a busy morning over here! I love it. :) Been a busy morning for the news, too.
T.O. tried to commit suicide? I honestly can't stand the guy, but I still think that's so sad. :( Interesting that someone can seemingly have it all, yet still be missing something.
Oh, and Anna Nicole's attorney says he's the father of her baby girl.. but does anyone really care? Honestly, I didn't, sorry.
I'm on the lookout for a long, dressy coat for winter. It gets pretty cold here, and especially with having to walk a bit every morning in town, I'd like to get a long winter coat. I can't find anything for under $200. Ugh! Even with a 15% coupon to BlueFly, I've had no luck. Any ideas? I feel like I've looked everywhere.
Ryan got his biggest commission check EVER today! Yeah! And no, that doesn't mean he wouldn't mind if I bought a $200+ coat. :) There are more important things.. like, you know, rent. I'm still really proud of him, though.. he works so hard.
I did get my severance check last week. Biggest check I've ever seen written to my name. My heart skipped a beat or two as I deposited that in our account! I must say, though.. taxes bite. It was 11k before taxes, (*I can say this now, since I no longer work there*) and only a little over 6.5k after taxes. Wow. Don't get me wrong, that's still a ton of money.. and it's the reason I stayed there till the end. However, I agree with my Dad's theory on this: Some people don't seem to care how much tax is taken out of their pay, so he believes there should be one window where you're given your 2 weeks' pay, in cash, then a second window beside it where they ask for your taxes. If you'd only SEE how much money you could have, but they take, maybe more people would be outraged. Really, it's ridiculous.
Anyway, the entire thing is going towards paying off debt, so we are SO excited that we'll be able to save more now!
Well, mail is here, and it's nearly lunchtime. This morning has been a blur! Hope you're all doing great, and having a wonderful day. :)
I was behind a Toyota Prius this morning, and the driver proceeded to throw his/her trash out the window. Now if that's not a contradiction, I don't know what is.
I'm really terrible at parallel parking. It wasn't a required skill way back when I took my driver's test, and it wasn't something I really ever had to do before I got this job. I spent a good 5 minutes this morning getting my little car into the available space, and I still was crooked. I guess I'll eventually get the hang of it with enough practice. :)
I didn't find out until the other day that Ryan thinks the vase he got me (picture in Sunday's entry) is ugly. What?! It has grown on him a bit, and he won't say it's "ugly" anymore, but he's still not too fond of it. He likes the shape, but not the color. I think that makes it sweeter of him to have bought it regardless of whether HE liked it or not. :) I still hope he comes around on it, though.
I don't know if I mentioned it last week or not, but I walked around the town on my lunch break one day last week and found the CUTEST little boutique, filled to the brim with gift ideas. If you're on my Christmas shopping list this year, chances are good you will be getting a gift from there. :) I just loved it!
I'd love to be able to do all my Christmas shopping in town this year, but we'll see how that goes. :) You just can't beat the atmosphere around here. I found out through a little research that this town was voted as the most picturesque downtown in Virginia. I thought that was really neat, and I whole-heartedly agree.
Well, it's getting busy over here again.. that's it for now! Hope you all are having a fantastic Tuesday. :)
Hey all! Well, we've been celebrating my Dad's birthday this afternoon, so we're over at my parents' house. It's been really nice, and the Redskins even won, just for him. :)
Yesterday, Ryan and I got up early and drove out to meet Ryan's parents and sister for breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then we all went out to the Mountain Heritage Arts & Crafts Festival at Harper's Ferry. I'd never been before, but it's a great event, with well over 100 vendors. Ryan and I were looking at pottery under one tent, where I fell in love with this big, gorgeous blue vase. I really loved it, but it was pretty expensive. ($125, which isn't bad for what it was, but still) "Do you want it, though?" Ryan asked. "Well, YEAH, I love it, but it's pretty expensive.." So, we continued on. That was only the second or third tent out of, like, 15 or so.
A little later, I found a handmade sign that read, "Always Kiss Me Goodnight," that I just loved. Ryan decided to go back and get it for me, so I handed him a couple 20 dollar bills, and he headed back to go get it. Not 5 minutes later, Dad S. tells me that Ryan is looking for the money I had just given him. I thought he was joking at first, but sure enough. :( Either he missed his pocket, or it fell out somehow, so I was wandering around looking on the ground for our missing bills. No luck. I won't lie, I was really bummed about it, and just couldn't bear to spend another $32, a total of $72, for the sign, no matter how much I liked it. Well, a little later, Dad S. comes up to me holding the sign that Ryan was going to get, and at first I thought maybe Ryan had found the money. "Whose is this?" I asked. My sweet parents-in-law went back and got it for us!! :) I was completely blown away by that.. it was an extremely sweet thing for them to do.
After we went through all of the tents, I decided to go back to that pottery vendor to see the vase I had liked. Unfortunately, someone else had bought it. :( I really didn't like anything else they had left. So, five hours later, with a handmade sign, a satchel of lavender, and a bag of cotton candy, we all headed out. It was oh-so fun, and I'm glad we were able to go. :)
Ryan dropped me off at the door before he parked the truck, so I got to our door first, where there was an Adelphia cable disconnect notice that, uh, wasn't for us. It was our same road number, and apartment number, but the wrong road. We get the other people's mail pretty often, and I'm sure they get ours, so it wasn't surprising. So, I went out on our balcony to call the phone number on the notice, so they'd know they gave it to the wrong people. I came back inside, and what was sitting on our counter but the blue vase I had fallen in love with, with a big 'Sold' sign on it! I couldn't believe it! He's so sneaky!! Ryan offered to take a few items that Mom S. and my sister-in-law, Kendra, had bought back to his truck, and stopped off to buy it for me! :) He is SUCH a sweetheart!! How did I get so lucky?! Seriously, I have the sweetest husband ever.
So, that was our weekend. :) Pretty long, I know, but I kinda miss being able to update every day, and I just feel like writing, I guess. I DID take some pictures, though! :)
Our table, all set for autumn :)
And Ryan put up our plate rack!
The super cute sign that Mom & Dad S. bought us! :) It's hanging on the inside of our bedroom, so only we see it.
The gorgeous vase my hubby surprised me with! It's "wheel thrown stoneware," royal blue with red undertones that look kind of purple with the blue. It's actually very large, but hard to tell in the picture.
One from Friday morning.. my attempt at being artsy. :-P
Well, that's all I've got. :) Just to recap... I've got the most wonderful second set of parents, we had a great weekend, and I have an amazing husband who gives the best surprises!! :) We're doing really well, also, and I'm definitely really loving my job! I honestly feel so blessed.
Hey all! :) Did you miss me? I'm starting this at 8:40, but we'll see how long this may take... it gets busy often, with little down time. That'd be why it's Thursday, and I'm just now updating!!
Actually, I wasn't sure if I should post from here, but after a fellow coworker covered phones for me briefly, and was on match.com while I was away, that kinda clued me in that they don't monitor internet. Still, I've been limiting it to just checking my gmail account, and my bank account online, along with occasionally checking the news if I happen to get a free moment.
In any event, I love my job!! It's very, very busy, (it's not uncommon for 5 lines to be ringing at once) and there is so much information to take in. My head was absolutely swimming on Monday morning, and I didn't know how I'd ever remember everything, but I am. By Monday afternoon, I was covering on my own. The lady who trained me has been very impressed, (and told my boss so) so that's a really, really good feeling.
The best part, though, are the people I work with. Roughly 35 people to get acquainted with, and I think I know them all by name now. My last company had nearly 100 at their peak, so 35 isn't too bad. They are wonderful; they're so supportive and encouraging, and very friendly and talkative.
They're heavy on the compliments, too, let me tell ya. Yesterday, two of the agents were commenting on how I seem like I've been here forever, and am really doing a great job. Another lady told me that she hopes I'll be here for the next 16 years, as the previous receptionist did. One agent, who is married to the son of an all-star quarterback, said that I'm "adorable," and that I "look just like a Barbie." I really don't know about all that, but that's just how she is: very, very sweet. They're ALL very sweet, no lie.
I love my office.. they renovated it just a year ago, and had it painted and decorated.. it's gorgeous, with a large window, and a glass door overlooking the busy main street. LOVE it.
I feel incredibly blessed.. this job feels like the perfect fit.
The weather here is unbelievable... I know fall officially starts on Saturday, but it feels like it already arrived! It smells like fall, and feels like fall all-around. The temp dipped down to 42 last night, so if that's not fall weather, I don't know what is. Pretty soon the leaves will be changing, and it'll be time for a drive to Skyline Drive in the mountains. :) I'm hoping they'll be pretty this year with all the rain we've gotten.
Well, I guess I'll wrap this up! Just wanted to let you all know how the job was going. :) Hope you're all doing great!
Well, tomorrow will be my first day at the new job! It really has been a great, relaxing vacation week with my hubby, but now it's back to business. I'm excited and nervous. Excited for obvious reasons.. new job, which, just to get, was a total blessing! Not sure if I mentioned it, but I was called in last Friday to come sign all the paperwork.. legal stuff.. and also to meet everyone, and get a tour of the place. It's MUCH larger than it looks from the main street! The front building was built in 1796, but they built a three-story addition behind it just 15 years ago. My front office has black and white photos of what the town used to look like, which is a far cry from what it is today! Very historic, and full of charm.. I love it. :)
Also, everyone that I met seems very nice, and they were very welcoming. Quite a few people were out on vacation, so I haven't met everyone yet, including the lady who will be training me tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to be "in training" for very long.. I don't do very well having someone over my shoulder. I do best when I'm kind of thrown in to it, and left to tend to myself. If I have a question, I'd rather just call. ;-) But I realize I probably won't have much choice in the matter, and that's okay.
I'll admit that I'm nervous as well! The excitement outweighs the nervousness, of course, but there will be a lot to learn initially, and I had been with the same company for nearly 5 years.. so this is pretty new again. :)
Well, I'm off! The chicken and broccoli casserole I've had cooking in the oven is finally nearly done, so I'm going to go join my hubby, who is, of course, watching the Eagles game at the moment. :) I'll let you all know how my first day goes!
Anyway, hope you all have had a fantastic weekend, and I hope that it's a great Monday for you all. :)
Hey there! Well, we did finally get to go canoeing today. The weather was just perfect! It started out a bit chilly, but the clouds gave way to beautiful sunshine. Low 70's as opposed to low 60's, which was wonderful.
Still definitely enjoying our vacation. :) Lots of fun stuff, great food, (mainly NOT cooked by me.. which is kinda nice) and just enjoying our time together. Now for some pictures? You'll notice I put them all in blue tint... no real reason why, I just kinda liked it.
We're set, and ready to go
My powerhouse :)
The frontwoman :)
We tried out a new place vs. the Potomac.. we're glad we did!
Our first stopping point: the bridge in the distance
Pictures really don't do this place justice
Love this picture :) Sunshine & my husband
Ryan liked this one
Havin' fun :)
A break in the woods.. we tied up the canoe here to go explore :)
Well, that's all I've got. :) It's been a really great week! I have no idea what we're up to this weekend just yet. We're over at my parents' house for pizza and the season opener of the Meerkat Manor show. :) It's really good.. honest! Very, very cute.
Hope you all are doing great. :) Have a WONDERFUL weekend!
Greetings from chilly No. VA. :) This week has honestly been really chilly.. easily too cold for shorts. Not sure if it'll last, but it's nice.
Cable is lovely.. they came and installed that yesterday. It's such a strange concept being able to find something to watch basically anytime of the day. :) We really haven't watched that much of it, though.
Today we had planned to get up and go bike riding on our local trail. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas, and it was raining when we woke up. Anyway, so we changed our plans.. and we decided on rock climbing! :) We drove out to an indoor rock climbing place, and had a lot of fun. Neither of us had ever tried it before. Of course, Ryan looked like an old pro up there, scrambling up the wall like a monkey, and putting his wife to shame. ;-) No, no, it honestly was really fun!
I'm working on getting some pictures up. I know my entries aren't as exciting without them. ;-) My camera is having issues, though, and it seems I also need a new battery. Ah well, at least this year I'll actually have a good gift suggestion for Ryan to get me for Christmas. :) Usually I can't think of anything I really want. It'd be nice to have a smaller, newer camera, though... I love my camera, but it's a technological dinosaur.
Well, we're off to go play some basketball until the rain returns. Tomorrow they're calling for rain again, but Friday looks pretty good, so we're planning on going canoeing on the river then. In case you're wondering, we're having a great time. :)
Well, the REDSKINS vs. Vikings game is just now coming on, but I wanted to update quickly! :) It has been such a fun day.. it's a really nice feeling to know that we're not doing what everyone else is doing today (ie- working)... it feels like we're playing hookie!
We had a really nice weekend visiting with Ryan's family. :) We stayed with my sister-in-law, Kendra, in her cute townhome. Always a nice drive, too, so scenic... it's a totally different world just 2 hours south of us. Everyone at their church is so sweet, and wants to know how we've been "up in Northern Virginia." Apparently they prayed about my job search this past week. :) How sweet is that?!
Speaking of sweet... yesterday was our 9 monthiversary. :) We celebrated with dinner out at Ruby's. It's just crazy to think we've been married that long already! I know I say that pretty much every month. :)
Today we slept in till 11:30!!!!!! I don't think we've slept that late since being married, but it was lovely, and much needed. We finally feel rested! Tucker had a busy-busy weekend with my cousin, his wife, and their two daughters. He was so tired last night, that for the first time EVER, he actually walked into his crate, by himself, and went to sleep. We were watching the Colts/Giants game, and he just couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. :) So cute. I missed the pug. Did I mention that he slept till 11:30 too?!
We went out and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2 today. Now I want to see the next one. Ugh! They're leaving me hanging!
Tomorrow, the cable guy will be at the apartment between 8-10AM, so I'll run out to the grocery store as Ryan waits. (he's very excited, of course!) We hardly have any food in the house, so I need to stock us up. I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow, yet.. kinda depends on the weather. Today was actually really chilly! I don't think it got much above the upper 60's, honestly. Maybe tomorrow we'll go hiking. :)
Well, hope you all are doing great, and having a nice week so far! Take care. <3
Well, it's already starting out to be a great day! I got up this morning and baked some blueberry muffins for my hubby to take to work. I've already worked out at the gym, and now I'm over at the computer lab. Everything's empty in the morning. :)
I got to do a little shopping yesterday, and wound up purchasing some work clothes: new pants and a really cute silk blouse at Express with a 20% off coupon. I still need a few more things, considering I've had "casual Friday" every day for the past 4 1/2 years! I'm excited about it, though.
Lots to do today! Places to go, people to see. :) Meeting up with Em for Chinese today! Mmm. I've got so much to do before then, and even more to do afterward. Still need to pack for the weekend, too. We're driving down tomorrow morning to see Ryan's family, and will be staying with his sister. Should be a nice weekend. :)
So, Ryan and I had an agreement that if I could get a job offer for X amount of money, we'd finally get cable. We haven't had cable for the 9 months we've been married, nor have we really needed it, honestly. Now, though, Fox 5 suddenly doesn't come in anymore, no matter how much we fiddle with our antenna, and guess what channel football comes on? Yeah. Well, sure enough, I was offered X amount yesterday, and Ryan wasted no time! We'll have cable sometime between 8 and 10 AM on Tuesday. :)
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Hope you all have a quick and easy Friday, and a fantastic weekend! :)
Praise God! I was so nervous this morning, I won't lie. I met with two (out of four) of their partners, individually.. one was very funny, but asked tough questions, so he kept me on my toes! The other was their only female partner, and she was very sweet! She even complimented me, saying that I'm very pretty. Definitely a first for me as far as interviews are concerned! After that, I spoke with the lady that interviewed me last week, and she told me that I was the front runner.. but that she'd call sometime this afternoon after speaking with the two partners I met with.
Well, only about a half hour or forty-five minutes later, I got the call, with an offer that is 2k more than what I've been making! I start on the 18th!! I am so, so, so beyond thrilled! Now I can enjoy my vacation with my hubby without worrying about the job situation! Thank you guys so, so much for praying for me about this.. I appreciated that so much. And they were definitely answered! I really feel that I will be happy in this new position. :)
Ok, so now what do I do with myself?! :) It was SO strange waking up this morning, knowing I didn't have a job to go to. I got up when Ryan did, worked out after he left, watched the news, and got ready gradually. It was a fun way to start the day. :)
I plopped myself down on our bed last night, and told my hubby that I really want this job that I'm interviewing (2nd interview) for tomorrow. He, of course, asked me why, and, in my defense, I told him several very good reasons, but ended it with, "and I'd get to see the town Christmas lights from the middle of November till January." To which he replied, "That's great.. when they ask you why you want this job, you can tell them it's because of the Christmas lights."
I'm trying not to get my hopes up about it, but am praying hard about where I'm supposed to be as of September 18th. I'd greatly appreciate prayers about this!
Well, today is my last day here. It's bittersweet... I mean, since we were bought out in January, it's not the same company that I've known and loved for the past 4 1/2 years... but at the same time, the people here are still the same. It's not looking good for this office, though.. 12 people have put in their 2 week notices, because they all are in positions where they can see that PBT wants nothing to do with this office. In my opinion, I don't think they've ever really considered keeping this office here for very long. From the time we were bought, it was "them" and "us" and they never really wanted to merge the two. It's really sad, honestly, but I realize this same kind of thing happens every day.
On the other hand, I really feel that I'm getting a good deal out of this.. great severance pay, (a perk for working here this long) and whether this office is around for long or not, we all still really think the stock we were given during the acquisition will be worth a lot. Going public seems to be the only real focus of PBT, which, hey, would be really great for me. There's also word that there are interested potential buyers, but that hinges on how quickly PBT can go public. If that's the case, the stock would go through the roof. I really digress here..
Honestly, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update from here on out, but I've tried not to think about it! Of course I'll update tomorrow after my 2nd interview, and probably Friday since I have the day off, but after that... it may be a bit sporadic. We don't have internet at home. I just can't not journal anymore.. there are WAY too many people I stay in touch with through here, and I just can't let that go.
Next week is our vacation, but we're not actually going anywhere. We're planning on doing things nearby, like canoeing on the river, biking, playing sports, hiking, etc. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. :) With my job status up in the air, we didn't think it'd be smart to reserve anything and shell out money we may need to pay our bills. We had really considered going somewhere, but decided against it. I get my severance pay on the 15th, but we decided a long time ago that ALL of it will go towards debts. We're in a good place right now, but I can't help but worry about not having a job secured yet. Right now, my income is a necessary part of the equation! But I'm trusting.. I have to. It's just a season.
It seems as though everything is conspiring against me this morning. For one, I was running late.. 5:45 came so early this morning, so I was kinda dragging. Then, the dog, who is usually aching to get outside, decided that no, no, it would be much more fun to run away from me this morning. With my hubby already out the door, it took a good 8 minutes or so for me to catch him by myself. He's a small, quick little fella. Not that I even wanted to go outside, personally, but I knew Tucker would've exploded during the day had I not. Oh, and it's pouring the rain outside this morning.
Has anyone found a good trick to get your wet umbrella into the car with you without completing dretching yourself? If so, I'd really love to know. :)
But you know what? I really don't want to be in a bad mood today! Honest! I had a fantastic weekend, and it's already Tuesday! Oh, and tomorrow is my LAST DAY OF WORK!
Seriously, being happy is way easier than being mad.
My Dad and I have always had this little inside joke. We were the only ones in the family that seemed to believe that inanimate objects are out to get you. I even wrote a paper on the Conspiracy of the Inanimate Society back in college.. and got an A. When you can't find such-and-such, or something's not where you left it, or something just doesn't want to work... "it's a conspiracy." My Dad's hilarious.. there isno one on this earth like my Dad.
But did I mention that my Mom and I got manicures/pedicures together on Saturday?! Pure bliss. I haven't been pampered like that since I got married. :)
And now, for something completely different. Weekend pictures!
Ryan's Company Picnic -
Ryan in the batting cages (dark blue) with one of his reps
And a random picture of me chatting
Mini golf!
The picnic was at a very pretty park..
DATE NIGHT!
Last night, we had a date night :) Dinner and a movie!
Ryan at dinner :)
And me
Us when we got home
Again, without the flash
We saw Invincible at the theatre.. very, very good movie! Surprisingly good, considering it's a "football movie." :)
Well, lots to do between today and tomorrow! I can't even believe tomorrow is my last day.. crazy, crazy, crazy.
In case you're wondering, the 9 AM interview I had this morning was excellent!! I actually just got off the phone with the lady I interviewed with, and I have a second interview, to meet with their partners, lined up for next Thursday!!!!!
I would really, really love this job. It's located downtown, (not in DC!) and it's only about a 20 minute commute. (and that's only because of all of the traffic lights!) Most businesses in the town, on the main street, are situated in these old homes. This particular company is in a home that was built in the late 1700's! It's very charming, and nicely decorated. Everyone that I met was very, very friendly. I used to live nearby, so I really felt like I was back in my old stomping grounds. The town is historic, and fun. Around Christmas time, they string lights up and down the main street, and it looks like something out of a movie. Did I mention that I'd really love to have this job??
Well, it's really rainy here today... and it's supposed to continue raining throughout the weekend. This is when having a dog is slightly less fun. :) Anyway, Ryan has his company picnic on Sunday, so I'm really wondering if it may get rained out! On Saturday, we need to do some shopping to get prizes for the raffle. We'll be buying toys for kids in 4 different age groups, and we'll be raffling them off at the picnic. Fun! I haven't been to Toys 'R' Us since I was little. :) Then, PENN STATE will be playing on Saturday afternoon, so of course we'll be watching that.
Well, very busy-busy today! Can you believe, after today, I only have two more work days here?! There's still so much left to do!
Hope you all have a fantastic holiday weekend! :) And thanks so much to those of you that continue to pray about my job search. It means a lot to me!
