There is a program at my work where you can work from home one day a week. I was finally approved to start it this week. (They had to document that I could meet all of my productivity and quality standards). Today was my first day working from home (I was lucky to be assigned Friday!) The conclusion, as I suspected, is it pretty much rocks!
Great things about working from home:
- I can greatly shorten my morning routine, because I am not leaving the house all day. (No packing lunch, no packing pumping stuff, etc etc etc)
- Therefore I can sleep in a bit
- No commute. I do still take Benjamin to daycare, but its only a couple blocks (if it was not getting cold I could/would walk him there!)
- Even with the sleeping in a bit and such, I have time to make myself a nice breakfast and clean the kitchen up a bit before I need to log in at 8am.
- No Workplace Drama! - When frustrating things happen they don't seem as bad from across the internet.
- I can play my music etc outloud instead of wearing headphones.
- I have a window "office" with a wonderful view of colorful leaves and natural light.
- I can pump while I work, so I don't have to use an altered break schedule like I do in the office. Meaning...
- I get a real lunch!!
- I can walk the dog at lunch!
- I can eat whatever suits me at lunch without spending extra money.
- I can keep the laundry running on my breaks.
- The pets are happy to have me around, even though I don't pay them attention.
- I am JUST as productive as in the office, so my employer is getting what they deserve still!!
Despite all of these pluses, I don't think I would want to do this full time! I like the social aspect of the office and it is easier to communicate with coworkers in person. In an ideal world, I could get some sort of half and half schedule, like three days from home, two in the office. This is not going to happen, but I will continue to cherish my one day working from home. It will get even better as I get my home work environment more settled. I will have Fridays working from home through December, then in January it will switch to Mondays, then in March to Tuesdays, etc.
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
smorgesboard
Time is moving very quickly and I do not have much time at all to post, so when I do have time to post I cannot decide what is most important to me. We will see what spills out.
Some things I want to write down about Benjamin before I forget. First time with solids was on Sunday, July 8th - roasted chicken and carrots w/bbq, and sweet potato fries. He liked the chicken for sure, not so much the bbq. He couldn't really figure the carrots out and I think he liked the sweet potato but DH thinks he did not. Since then he has also had red bell pepper, tomato, avocado, hamburger, cucumber, wheat bun, and onion. I would like to post more about baby lead weaning for you all, but not tonight. Other baby stuff - He tried to put his pacifier in my mouth last week and thought it was hilarious when I "ate" his hand instead. In general he has been putting his hand in my mouth recently and laughing if I close my teeth at all on it. He was laughing socially last night - just laughing because we laughed. He is making friends at daycare and I am informed has a specific boy who is a bit older (12m?) and always makes him laugh. He likes mirrors even more now (though they always were a good way to get him to smile). Still no sign of teeth. Still totally not mobile. Still can't roll from his front to back and does not even seem to try. I think he will get to crawling/mobility from the sitting position. He can practically do a sit up with a little help from hands to grab for leverage.
Work is, well, it changes day to day. Monday was very tedious and frustrating, but Tuesday was decent. Wednesday there was nothing to do, and today was kinda negative. Right now we are "trapped" in a training room with a coworker showing us how to do things. I say trapped because we are beginning to feel like we are under a filter of negativity. The coworker training us is negative about everything - the company, Duluth, the economy, cost of living, anything that comes up he is negative about. Its getting to us. And by we/us I mean the other new trainee K and me. I am hoping once we get out of the training room and on the floor we can start to decide for ourselves what is negative and positive and have a better daily experience.
Benjamin is at daycare for about 9.5 hrs a day. I leave work at 4:30pm exactly and rush down to pick him up. I find delaying this for anything - an errand, talking to someone at the end of the workday, etc, painful. I don't know why the 5-10 minutes matters so much, but I get SO focused on just wanting to go get him and have him with me again its a bit crazy.
Between work, baby, and feeding baby (read pumping), we are not settling into the new house as quickly as I had hoped. Baby is asleep now and I should be unpacking, but I am blogging instead. I just had to switch my lunch/break schedule to accommodate pumping twice during the workday as my output from once a day was dropping. That means I now have no lunch or breaks EXCEPT when I am pumping. I thought this would be more stressful than it is, but luckily the switch coincided with me returning to reading, and now that I read while I pump, it does not seem so bad.
Finally, the real thing on my mind right now is a woman who I hardly know. I know her through my Columbus Women's message board, on which I am still active. She is losing her baby at 32w pregnant. I can't get her out of my mind and I really wish there was more to do to help. I cannot imagine how heartbreaking an experience it is for her. I am posting it here is in the hopes it helps get it out of my system. A little omnipotency would help at the moment so I could undue this horrible experience for her. But what can I offer? Just my thoughts I guess.
Some things I want to write down about Benjamin before I forget. First time with solids was on Sunday, July 8th - roasted chicken and carrots w/bbq, and sweet potato fries. He liked the chicken for sure, not so much the bbq. He couldn't really figure the carrots out and I think he liked the sweet potato but DH thinks he did not. Since then he has also had red bell pepper, tomato, avocado, hamburger, cucumber, wheat bun, and onion. I would like to post more about baby lead weaning for you all, but not tonight. Other baby stuff - He tried to put his pacifier in my mouth last week and thought it was hilarious when I "ate" his hand instead. In general he has been putting his hand in my mouth recently and laughing if I close my teeth at all on it. He was laughing socially last night - just laughing because we laughed. He is making friends at daycare and I am informed has a specific boy who is a bit older (12m?) and always makes him laugh. He likes mirrors even more now (though they always were a good way to get him to smile). Still no sign of teeth. Still totally not mobile. Still can't roll from his front to back and does not even seem to try. I think he will get to crawling/mobility from the sitting position. He can practically do a sit up with a little help from hands to grab for leverage.
Work is, well, it changes day to day. Monday was very tedious and frustrating, but Tuesday was decent. Wednesday there was nothing to do, and today was kinda negative. Right now we are "trapped" in a training room with a coworker showing us how to do things. I say trapped because we are beginning to feel like we are under a filter of negativity. The coworker training us is negative about everything - the company, Duluth, the economy, cost of living, anything that comes up he is negative about. Its getting to us. And by we/us I mean the other new trainee K and me. I am hoping once we get out of the training room and on the floor we can start to decide for ourselves what is negative and positive and have a better daily experience.
Benjamin is at daycare for about 9.5 hrs a day. I leave work at 4:30pm exactly and rush down to pick him up. I find delaying this for anything - an errand, talking to someone at the end of the workday, etc, painful. I don't know why the 5-10 minutes matters so much, but I get SO focused on just wanting to go get him and have him with me again its a bit crazy.
Between work, baby, and feeding baby (read pumping), we are not settling into the new house as quickly as I had hoped. Baby is asleep now and I should be unpacking, but I am blogging instead. I just had to switch my lunch/break schedule to accommodate pumping twice during the workday as my output from once a day was dropping. That means I now have no lunch or breaks EXCEPT when I am pumping. I thought this would be more stressful than it is, but luckily the switch coincided with me returning to reading, and now that I read while I pump, it does not seem so bad.
Finally, the real thing on my mind right now is a woman who I hardly know. I know her through my Columbus Women's message board, on which I am still active. She is losing her baby at 32w pregnant. I can't get her out of my mind and I really wish there was more to do to help. I cannot imagine how heartbreaking an experience it is for her. I am posting it here is in the hopes it helps get it out of my system. A little omnipotency would help at the moment so I could undue this horrible experience for her. But what can I offer? Just my thoughts I guess.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Back to Work
Tonight is my last night as a "stay at home mom." Tomorrow I start my new job as an eligibility and enrollment representative for medicare and medicaid at a major insurance company. I am happy to start work. I think I will probably like my job, I think it has room for growth, and I like the company I am going to work for (we used to have their insurance and they treated us very well).
When I was pregnant "are you going back to work?" was a relatively common question, particularly often seeing as I believed most people who asked it had a preferred answer. It is surprising how often one feels silently judged as a mother/mother to be (I am actually working on a post about the so-called Mommy Wars, so I will leave further discussion of this for another time). The point is, my answer was that I would be home for 12 weeks, and wished I could stay home for more like 6 months if my job allowed it. Well, as life would dictate, I actually got to stay home with Benjamin for 24 precious weeks. Not quite 6 months, but pretty darn close. I wish that Ben was crawling or mobile, but he is pretty darn close. We are in a good place.
I am very anxious about leaving Benjamin at daycare tomorrow, but ultimately I think it will be good for both of us. I think I will like being back at work, and I think that once he adjusts, Benjamin will like being at daycare. We had his little friend over here last night, and he was very amused by the 7 month old who was crawling and climbing. I think Ben will be rolling and crawling in no time with examples from the slightly older kids and a bit more "floor" time. Plus, knowing he is getting all sorts of floor time and play time at daycare, DH and I won't have to feel bad if we end up holding him all evening.
So, wish us luck! It will be a rough few days, but I hope all of us settle in quickly.
When I was pregnant "are you going back to work?" was a relatively common question, particularly often seeing as I believed most people who asked it had a preferred answer. It is surprising how often one feels silently judged as a mother/mother to be (I am actually working on a post about the so-called Mommy Wars, so I will leave further discussion of this for another time). The point is, my answer was that I would be home for 12 weeks, and wished I could stay home for more like 6 months if my job allowed it. Well, as life would dictate, I actually got to stay home with Benjamin for 24 precious weeks. Not quite 6 months, but pretty darn close. I wish that Ben was crawling or mobile, but he is pretty darn close. We are in a good place.
I am very anxious about leaving Benjamin at daycare tomorrow, but ultimately I think it will be good for both of us. I think I will like being back at work, and I think that once he adjusts, Benjamin will like being at daycare. We had his little friend over here last night, and he was very amused by the 7 month old who was crawling and climbing. I think Ben will be rolling and crawling in no time with examples from the slightly older kids and a bit more "floor" time. Plus, knowing he is getting all sorts of floor time and play time at daycare, DH and I won't have to feel bad if we end up holding him all evening.
So, wish us luck! It will be a rough few days, but I hope all of us settle in quickly.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Prepping
After a busy weekend, in which my little sister graduated (Congrats!), the week is already proving to be a flurry of activity, of me trying to prepare mentally and materially for starting work on Monday June 18th.
So far I have:
- hit up Target to try and make sure we have everything for daycare and for me (lunchboxes, totes, hat and sunglasses to leave at the sitters, diaper cream, bottle to pump into, etc etc)
- mailed out mortgage documents
- found and signed the paperwork for home owners insurance for the new house
- worked on some father's day gifts
- planned the menu for this week and bought groceries
- scheduled a drs appointment and arranged for my records to get transferred to the new doctor
- arranged for Ben's vaccination records to go to his daycare
- finished getting Ben and me signed up for the online health portal
I still need to:
- take Grim to the vet
- go to the Doctor
- pack stuff for daycare and take it in
- clean my new/second pump and prep bottles for use
- practice pumping both sides at once
- do a "practice run" of getting ready in the morning so I know we will have enough time
- locate and pack important documents for first day of work
- get all my work cloths clean and together
- finish father's day gifts
- figure out what I will be eating when I start work and get it purchase/packed
Basically, I figure the more I can get done this week in terms of maintenance on long term issues (appts) and planning/practicing for when I start work. the better.
Despite all this planning I am still expecting things to go horribly wrong, because that is how I am.
So far I have:
- hit up Target to try and make sure we have everything for daycare and for me (lunchboxes, totes, hat and sunglasses to leave at the sitters, diaper cream, bottle to pump into, etc etc)
- mailed out mortgage documents
- found and signed the paperwork for home owners insurance for the new house
- worked on some father's day gifts
- planned the menu for this week and bought groceries
- scheduled a drs appointment and arranged for my records to get transferred to the new doctor
- arranged for Ben's vaccination records to go to his daycare
- finished getting Ben and me signed up for the online health portal
I still need to:
- take Grim to the vet
- go to the Doctor
- pack stuff for daycare and take it in
- clean my new/second pump and prep bottles for use
- practice pumping both sides at once
- do a "practice run" of getting ready in the morning so I know we will have enough time
- locate and pack important documents for first day of work
- get all my work cloths clean and together
- finish father's day gifts
- figure out what I will be eating when I start work and get it purchase/packed
Basically, I figure the more I can get done this week in terms of maintenance on long term issues (appts) and planning/practicing for when I start work. the better.
Despite all this planning I am still expecting things to go horribly wrong, because that is how I am.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Falling in Place
I am very happy to report that things are falling into place. My stress, though intense, was relatively short lived.
On Tuesday morning I "snuck" out of the house early to try and get my drug test done before it interfered with any plans. My MIL is in town and I thought I could be back before people really got moving to do anything. I arrived at the lab at 8:30am and failed to be able to provide a big enough sample. I drank another liter and a half of water and just sat and waited... and waited.. and waited.
While I waited I received a call from a daycare center. I had emailed them before noticing in their webpage that they specialized in serving the needs of "parents with additional stresses". I figured that even if they had a spot open that as a married, middle class, educated family we would not qualify for it. However, the lady on the phone assured me that while they do offer services that would benefit "parents with additional stresses" that they did not limit their clientele to this, and that they did have a full time infant spot open. I told her I would come over around 10am, figuring I surely would have been able to give a sample by then.
It ended up being a rush! I do not know if it was due to breast feeding or what, but my body just absorbed the water it seemed, and it took forever for me to need to go. I finally did around 9:40 and then hopped into the car to head back across town to see the daycare. I was running late so I did not stop and change babies diaper or feed him even though I knew he needed both, he was happy and I figured I could do it after.
The tour of the center was great. Everyone I met was very nice and very professional. The infant room had 6 infants in it and three adults when I walked in. One of them was not technically an infant teacher, but she was helping out because her specific job (food coordinator) leaves her with lots of extra time. Also, because they share a building with a senior living center, they have a volunteer named "Grandma Mary" who comes and helps do projects, rock babies to sleep, etc. All the kids were engaged and playing on the rug, or down for naps in a nice nursery room. Also, the office staff (of two) was very engaged with the kids as well. It was just really great - caring adults with loving hands everywhere. And the the main infant teacher gave me a great vibe, she was very engaged and very concerned with understanding what Benjamin would need to be happy and what I would need to feel comfortable leaving him there.
I was almost certain we wanted the spot, but I had to check with DH, so I went out to the car and talked to him on the cell, then headed back in to sign up and put down a deposit. Well, I handed DS to the office manager to fill out paperwork and he immediately began screaming. She asked if he could be wet or hungry and I had to admit he was both! I felt like an awful mother but they were so nice about it, changed his diaper and found somewhere for me to nurse. Once he was clean and dry I finished the paperwork while they took turns holding him. They did a decent job considering his normal tendency to scream when I am not around. I am still sure that the first few days will be rough, but I also feel like they will take really good care of him and not just let him cry or ignore him in favor of dealing with other kids.
We also have made some progress on the housing front. We are going to be making an offer on a house this weekend. I know this does not mean that everything will work out with it, but I really just feel like we are headed in the right direction mentally and with our actions. We have been given some advice during this house hunt and during the trouble we have had with it. People suggested that we be patient, consider raising our price range, and stop putting pressure on ourselves to make this the end all/be all (surely forever) house. I think we are taking all three pieces of advice. The house we are putting an offer on is a bit more expensive than we were looking, and it may not be our forever home, but if we successful purchase it we will live their a long time and very happily. More details on the house once we are in contract!
Finally, I received the call yesterday that all is in order for me to start work on June 18th. I passed the background check and drug test. I got a nice email from my supervisor welcoming me to the team.
So yes, things are falling into place. Its a bit unfortunate all these big things had to be going on while my MIL is here, because I feel like I have not had a chance to enjoy her company as much as I had hoped. I have been running around to labs and day cares etc. But I am very glad things are starting to get settled.
On Tuesday morning I "snuck" out of the house early to try and get my drug test done before it interfered with any plans. My MIL is in town and I thought I could be back before people really got moving to do anything. I arrived at the lab at 8:30am and failed to be able to provide a big enough sample. I drank another liter and a half of water and just sat and waited... and waited.. and waited.
While I waited I received a call from a daycare center. I had emailed them before noticing in their webpage that they specialized in serving the needs of "parents with additional stresses". I figured that even if they had a spot open that as a married, middle class, educated family we would not qualify for it. However, the lady on the phone assured me that while they do offer services that would benefit "parents with additional stresses" that they did not limit their clientele to this, and that they did have a full time infant spot open. I told her I would come over around 10am, figuring I surely would have been able to give a sample by then.
It ended up being a rush! I do not know if it was due to breast feeding or what, but my body just absorbed the water it seemed, and it took forever for me to need to go. I finally did around 9:40 and then hopped into the car to head back across town to see the daycare. I was running late so I did not stop and change babies diaper or feed him even though I knew he needed both, he was happy and I figured I could do it after.
The tour of the center was great. Everyone I met was very nice and very professional. The infant room had 6 infants in it and three adults when I walked in. One of them was not technically an infant teacher, but she was helping out because her specific job (food coordinator) leaves her with lots of extra time. Also, because they share a building with a senior living center, they have a volunteer named "Grandma Mary" who comes and helps do projects, rock babies to sleep, etc. All the kids were engaged and playing on the rug, or down for naps in a nice nursery room. Also, the office staff (of two) was very engaged with the kids as well. It was just really great - caring adults with loving hands everywhere. And the the main infant teacher gave me a great vibe, she was very engaged and very concerned with understanding what Benjamin would need to be happy and what I would need to feel comfortable leaving him there.
I was almost certain we wanted the spot, but I had to check with DH, so I went out to the car and talked to him on the cell, then headed back in to sign up and put down a deposit. Well, I handed DS to the office manager to fill out paperwork and he immediately began screaming. She asked if he could be wet or hungry and I had to admit he was both! I felt like an awful mother but they were so nice about it, changed his diaper and found somewhere for me to nurse. Once he was clean and dry I finished the paperwork while they took turns holding him. They did a decent job considering his normal tendency to scream when I am not around. I am still sure that the first few days will be rough, but I also feel like they will take really good care of him and not just let him cry or ignore him in favor of dealing with other kids.
We also have made some progress on the housing front. We are going to be making an offer on a house this weekend. I know this does not mean that everything will work out with it, but I really just feel like we are headed in the right direction mentally and with our actions. We have been given some advice during this house hunt and during the trouble we have had with it. People suggested that we be patient, consider raising our price range, and stop putting pressure on ourselves to make this the end all/be all (surely forever) house. I think we are taking all three pieces of advice. The house we are putting an offer on is a bit more expensive than we were looking, and it may not be our forever home, but if we successful purchase it we will live their a long time and very happily. More details on the house once we are in contract!
Finally, I received the call yesterday that all is in order for me to start work on June 18th. I passed the background check and drug test. I got a nice email from my supervisor welcoming me to the team.
So yes, things are falling into place. Its a bit unfortunate all these big things had to be going on while my MIL is here, because I feel like I have not had a chance to enjoy her company as much as I had hoped. I have been running around to labs and day cares etc. But I am very glad things are starting to get settled.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Ball O'Stress
Between the daycare search, paperwork etc for the new job, and the house hunt, I am feeling extremely stressed. This is the most stressed I have been since, I don't know... I was pretty stressed about the decisions involving delivery of Benjamin back in December, but I think this is worse. Before that... well my last job was not stressful at all so I would say since General Exams in graduate school.. yeah those might have been more stressful than this.
I spent the morning calling and emailing day cares. All the work resulted in one visit this evening, which did not go well.We both found the owner to be overbearing and odd, and the set up to be less than favorable. I am worried we won't find better. The problem with daycare search that non-parents don't seem to understand is that you don't just go pick a daycare, you have to find one that has an opening, and then there may be several people trying to get that opening. It sucks. My mom and her work friends are trying to help with leads, and I have four weeks, but its all I can think about practically. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that...
I also set up to go view more houses. After a small escapade with a house we thought we loved but realized after we had an offer in that we didn't, we are really trying to gather ourselves and identify what our goals are. I think we have our heads on straight now about that, but we will see how the next round of viewings go. The pressure is on if we want to close in June. Finding the right place is practically all I think about. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that....
I got another round of paperwork for my new employment, and I have to arrange to go take a drug test. Clearly I don't expect their to be any glitches, but making sure it all gets done still occupies a great deal of my attention, its practically all I think about. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that....
My car needs repairs too by the way.
Luckily there is some shining light in this. Benjamin was a sweet little adorable angel for me today. He was cheerful and babbling and laughing while he was awake and went down for his naps easily. He looks SO CLOSE to crawling, but I don't think he quite has the torso strength for it yet. He will push his entire chest and stomach up in the air, and today he even was wiggling his back end under him, but he can't hold that torso straight. He is also very close to sitting unassisted. He was talking so much today it was amazing. At one point he would burst out laughing every time I said a letter. ("A" (he breaks out laughing) "B" (he breaks out laughing) etc. For a whole alphabet and a half!). He is so adorable. I cannot believe how big he is getting.
On one last note, fiction. I have a lot of fiction in my life when there is time for it. Mainly books and TV. I have been watching MASH while I nurse for the past 2-3 weeks and I am on the final season. I am reading a book, Little Bee, for book club tomorrow. I have realized that feeling as stressed as I have been, these are not appropriate forms of fiction. Both the book and the final season of MASH are depressing and I just can't take it. I feel like it is adding to my stress instead of relieving it! But in the case of the book, I need to get it done in the next 20 hrs! And for MASH, I only have two discs left so I want to just finish, but I really should postpone and put something cheerful/comforting on.
I spent the morning calling and emailing day cares. All the work resulted in one visit this evening, which did not go well.We both found the owner to be overbearing and odd, and the set up to be less than favorable. I am worried we won't find better. The problem with daycare search that non-parents don't seem to understand is that you don't just go pick a daycare, you have to find one that has an opening, and then there may be several people trying to get that opening. It sucks. My mom and her work friends are trying to help with leads, and I have four weeks, but its all I can think about practically. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that...
I also set up to go view more houses. After a small escapade with a house we thought we loved but realized after we had an offer in that we didn't, we are really trying to gather ourselves and identify what our goals are. I think we have our heads on straight now about that, but we will see how the next round of viewings go. The pressure is on if we want to close in June. Finding the right place is practically all I think about. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that....
I got another round of paperwork for my new employment, and I have to arrange to go take a drug test. Clearly I don't expect their to be any glitches, but making sure it all gets done still occupies a great deal of my attention, its practically all I think about. Except I cannot afford to only be thinking about that....
My car needs repairs too by the way.
Luckily there is some shining light in this. Benjamin was a sweet little adorable angel for me today. He was cheerful and babbling and laughing while he was awake and went down for his naps easily. He looks SO CLOSE to crawling, but I don't think he quite has the torso strength for it yet. He will push his entire chest and stomach up in the air, and today he even was wiggling his back end under him, but he can't hold that torso straight. He is also very close to sitting unassisted. He was talking so much today it was amazing. At one point he would burst out laughing every time I said a letter. ("A" (he breaks out laughing) "B" (he breaks out laughing) etc. For a whole alphabet and a half!). He is so adorable. I cannot believe how big he is getting.
On one last note, fiction. I have a lot of fiction in my life when there is time for it. Mainly books and TV. I have been watching MASH while I nurse for the past 2-3 weeks and I am on the final season. I am reading a book, Little Bee, for book club tomorrow. I have realized that feeling as stressed as I have been, these are not appropriate forms of fiction. Both the book and the final season of MASH are depressing and I just can't take it. I feel like it is adding to my stress instead of relieving it! But in the case of the book, I need to get it done in the next 20 hrs! And for MASH, I only have two discs left so I want to just finish, but I really should postpone and put something cheerful/comforting on.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Big Mama's Boy
Benjamin had his 4 month appointment on Tuesday. He is a big growing boy! He weighed 16 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile), and is 26.5" long (90th percentile). It is weird how big he feels now. I think what really makes him feel bigger than even a week ago is that he is stretching out more. A week ago if I had him sleep on my chest he would be all curled up with his legs tucked under him in a fetal position, now he stretches out and lets his legs hang down and it makes him feel SO LONG.
He also had his vaccines on Tuesday and spent Tuesday night through Thursday morning with a fever and generally not himself. Luckily that cleared up in time for his Grandparent's (my ILs) to arrive Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately he was very fussy for them anyways because the way his sleep pattern had been and his growing stranger danger/separation anxiety.
In short, Benjamin is a mama's boy, to a fault. The last few times I have needed to leave him with my mother as a babysitter he pretty much screamed the entire time. On Monday I needed to go to do some job application stuff and my mom watched him. I was gone for 90 minutes. He was OK for the first 15 minutes then screamed for the rest of the time. On Thursday my dad and mom both watched him while I went for a job interview and it went a little better, but it still involved quite a lot of "not the mama" stubborn crying. On Thursday afternoon, right after my ILs arrived I needed to go sign some documents, so I left him with a whole slew of baby sitters (both sets of grandparents, my brother, and both SILs), and he screamed the entire time I was gone (over an hour). He stopped crying about 2 seconds after they handed him back to me. Its extremely stressful for everyone involved. I feel trapped when I can't go somewhere without thinking he is at home screaming, which is pretty much accurate.
And things just got more complicated. All that job stuff? Well, I got a job; Eligibility and Enrollment representative for the medicaid/medicare portion of a large insurance company. I start June 18th. I need to find childcare. I have no idea how this is going to work. I imagine that unless something drastic changes in the next month that he will spend the first couple of days I go to work screaming his head off. The thought of it breaks my heart. I am glad and relieved to be employed, but not happy, if that makes any sense. In fact if I really stop and think about it, it makes me want to cry.
*sigh*
He also had his vaccines on Tuesday and spent Tuesday night through Thursday morning with a fever and generally not himself. Luckily that cleared up in time for his Grandparent's (my ILs) to arrive Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately he was very fussy for them anyways because the way his sleep pattern had been and his growing stranger danger/separation anxiety.
In short, Benjamin is a mama's boy, to a fault. The last few times I have needed to leave him with my mother as a babysitter he pretty much screamed the entire time. On Monday I needed to go to do some job application stuff and my mom watched him. I was gone for 90 minutes. He was OK for the first 15 minutes then screamed for the rest of the time. On Thursday my dad and mom both watched him while I went for a job interview and it went a little better, but it still involved quite a lot of "not the mama" stubborn crying. On Thursday afternoon, right after my ILs arrived I needed to go sign some documents, so I left him with a whole slew of baby sitters (both sets of grandparents, my brother, and both SILs), and he screamed the entire time I was gone (over an hour). He stopped crying about 2 seconds after they handed him back to me. Its extremely stressful for everyone involved. I feel trapped when I can't go somewhere without thinking he is at home screaming, which is pretty much accurate.
And things just got more complicated. All that job stuff? Well, I got a job; Eligibility and Enrollment representative for the medicaid/medicare portion of a large insurance company. I start June 18th. I need to find childcare. I have no idea how this is going to work. I imagine that unless something drastic changes in the next month that he will spend the first couple of days I go to work screaming his head off. The thought of it breaks my heart. I am glad and relieved to be employed, but not happy, if that makes any sense. In fact if I really stop and think about it, it makes me want to cry.
*sigh*
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Some Unfriendly Firsts
With Benjamin getting his first shots on Tuesday, we also go to deal with his first fever, and first use of baby Tylenol. All went smoothly, though he was fussy all night pretty much. I always thought people who did things like saved baby's first bandaid were psycho, but I have to admit I considered it! The bandaids were Taz (from looney toons), one on each thigh. Poor little boy. And we get to do it again in May, how fun!
I had a job thing on Thursday morning, an "on site" assessment technically. It was weird going in because I was not even sure I wanted to get the job. Not because its a bad job, I actually think I would enjoy it as much as anything else - but I don't feel ready to go back to work yet. I want to go back eventually... just not yet. The "on site assessment", as I expected, turned out to be a computerized test. I did very well on it (of course... lol). I mean it was pretty basic stuff, it just was showing I could use a computer, learn the new software quickly, learn and follow rules, and not be a jackass to customers. For the record, the job would be handling people who were calling the health insurance companies about appeals on their claims (fielding questions, inputting data, getting their evidence into file, forwarding things to the correct people, etc).
After I finished the guy proctoring the exam told me that their "class" starting soon is actually full and I could either interview to be a backup for that class, or have them hold my scores/application for future classes. I told him to hold my information. Hopefully they will call me in May or June and want to hire me. In the meantime I will continue to apply for jobs. If it was a really good position, like perhaps with the university, I would take it regardless of the timing, but right now I just still feel like I am on maternity leave and can't stand the idea of dropping Benjamin off at a daycare. I am sure every working mother knows the feeling...
Meanwhile, the job thing also meant we had our first non-family babysitter. It was my mom's work friend. He was only there for 2 hrs or so. I was a bit worried. Seems like all the true SIDS stories you hear about happen at the babysitter... but of course she was a great sitter and he was fine. Motherhood certainly heightens your paranoia!
I had a job thing on Thursday morning, an "on site" assessment technically. It was weird going in because I was not even sure I wanted to get the job. Not because its a bad job, I actually think I would enjoy it as much as anything else - but I don't feel ready to go back to work yet. I want to go back eventually... just not yet. The "on site assessment", as I expected, turned out to be a computerized test. I did very well on it (of course... lol). I mean it was pretty basic stuff, it just was showing I could use a computer, learn the new software quickly, learn and follow rules, and not be a jackass to customers. For the record, the job would be handling people who were calling the health insurance companies about appeals on their claims (fielding questions, inputting data, getting their evidence into file, forwarding things to the correct people, etc).
After I finished the guy proctoring the exam told me that their "class" starting soon is actually full and I could either interview to be a backup for that class, or have them hold my scores/application for future classes. I told him to hold my information. Hopefully they will call me in May or June and want to hire me. In the meantime I will continue to apply for jobs. If it was a really good position, like perhaps with the university, I would take it regardless of the timing, but right now I just still feel like I am on maternity leave and can't stand the idea of dropping Benjamin off at a daycare. I am sure every working mother knows the feeling...
Meanwhile, the job thing also meant we had our first non-family babysitter. It was my mom's work friend. He was only there for 2 hrs or so. I was a bit worried. Seems like all the true SIDS stories you hear about happen at the babysitter... but of course she was a great sitter and he was fine. Motherhood certainly heightens your paranoia!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Quick Update
DH has been out of town since early yesterday morning. I am about 50% of the way through his trip, crossing my fingers (and legs, lol) that I don't go into labor. Obviously it is still early but I can't help but be paranoid, especially since I have had a lot more cramping etc (which could be early contractions) in the last couple of days.
I came home from work at 11am today. Used sick time for my own mental health. The ridiculous pregnancy hormones were messing with me. I also was really tired, and I have no idea why. I mean, besides the obvious "I am 38 weeks pregnant", I got plenty of sleep last night and it was good sleep. (Only got up once overnight to pee, only woke up once because of being uncomfortable). So I am home napping this afternoon.
I thought I had a bunch more to say, but that is it for now!
I came home from work at 11am today. Used sick time for my own mental health. The ridiculous pregnancy hormones were messing with me. I also was really tired, and I have no idea why. I mean, besides the obvious "I am 38 weeks pregnant", I got plenty of sleep last night and it was good sleep. (Only got up once overnight to pee, only woke up once because of being uncomfortable). So I am home napping this afternoon.
I thought I had a bunch more to say, but that is it for now!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Big Changes Ahead
There is so much going on here, and so little at the same time.
DH is interviewing for a job in MN this upcoming Friday. He will be gone Thursday-Saturday. Hopefully baby does not come. I don't think the baby will come, there are not many signs of progress, but I can't help but be nervous about it. We will see how contrary this baby is I guess!! We will have even more stress if DH is offered the job, some big decisions to make as it could be a very stressful move, and would also be choosing to lower our income significantly, but we would be where we wanted to be, and closer to a family support system. There are SO many variables and some big decisions upcoming.
Because of this interview, a lot of stuff that was on my baby "to do" list is being put off, because its things that are counter productive if we end up moving soon, like finishing hanging decorations in the nursery, assembling the crib (we have the pack&play up and running for those early months), getting the second car seat installed, etc. Its a holding pattern in many regards.
I know I have not been posting much. I don't know when I got out of the habit of posting, but I did, and I definitely want to get back INTO the habit as this blog is about keeping people up to date on my life, and with the baby people will want even more updates. I am pretty sure this will be one of my New Years resolutions.
Last weekend we went to get the Christmas Tree. I have pics from this, but our camera has died, so I can't get them off easily. I will need to borrow someones camera to switch memory cards with, or find someone w/a card reader. Also, we need to replace the camera ASAP. Its a horrible time for it to die. We are debating getting an SLR, but I think we will end up with a point and shoot for now, especially with all the uncertainty. Its difficult to decide. But, the house is all decorated for Christmas. I bought stockings for DH and I since we don't have any here in Columbus, having never spent a Christmas here.
If the house decorations are not enough to get us in the Holiday Spirit, I also had a number of Christmas celebrations this week, the two most notable being our Annual Holiday lunch on Friday with my work unit, and the Nestie Christmas Party on Saturday night. Both were great and I got great secret santa gifts.
In one final note, I wanted to comment on something that won't matter to anyone except the nesties that read this. So a few months ago (August/September), there was a huge bit of drama on my message board I use and it split into two. The new board was meant to me more welcoming and inclusive than the old board had become. I am still a member of both boards. This week there were parallel posts that allowed real insight into how different the two boards are even after such a short time separated. On both boards there was a post about the Duggar's - the TV reality stars of "19 Kids and Counting" who just experienced a very late (20week) miscarriage on their 20th pregnancy. On the new board, the response was overwhelmingly and exclusively "that is so sad/tough, would never wish that on anyone, its making me tear up, can't imagine how hard that is for them" etc etc etc. On the old board the response was "that is sad, they really shouldn't be trying for kids, they are not being good parents" etc etc etc. I am pretty sure when I need support I will be posting on the new board, thank you very much.
DH is interviewing for a job in MN this upcoming Friday. He will be gone Thursday-Saturday. Hopefully baby does not come. I don't think the baby will come, there are not many signs of progress, but I can't help but be nervous about it. We will see how contrary this baby is I guess!! We will have even more stress if DH is offered the job, some big decisions to make as it could be a very stressful move, and would also be choosing to lower our income significantly, but we would be where we wanted to be, and closer to a family support system. There are SO many variables and some big decisions upcoming.
Because of this interview, a lot of stuff that was on my baby "to do" list is being put off, because its things that are counter productive if we end up moving soon, like finishing hanging decorations in the nursery, assembling the crib (we have the pack&play up and running for those early months), getting the second car seat installed, etc. Its a holding pattern in many regards.
I know I have not been posting much. I don't know when I got out of the habit of posting, but I did, and I definitely want to get back INTO the habit as this blog is about keeping people up to date on my life, and with the baby people will want even more updates. I am pretty sure this will be one of my New Years resolutions.
Last weekend we went to get the Christmas Tree. I have pics from this, but our camera has died, so I can't get them off easily. I will need to borrow someones camera to switch memory cards with, or find someone w/a card reader. Also, we need to replace the camera ASAP. Its a horrible time for it to die. We are debating getting an SLR, but I think we will end up with a point and shoot for now, especially with all the uncertainty. Its difficult to decide. But, the house is all decorated for Christmas. I bought stockings for DH and I since we don't have any here in Columbus, having never spent a Christmas here.
If the house decorations are not enough to get us in the Holiday Spirit, I also had a number of Christmas celebrations this week, the two most notable being our Annual Holiday lunch on Friday with my work unit, and the Nestie Christmas Party on Saturday night. Both were great and I got great secret santa gifts.
In one final note, I wanted to comment on something that won't matter to anyone except the nesties that read this. So a few months ago (August/September), there was a huge bit of drama on my message board I use and it split into two. The new board was meant to me more welcoming and inclusive than the old board had become. I am still a member of both boards. This week there were parallel posts that allowed real insight into how different the two boards are even after such a short time separated. On both boards there was a post about the Duggar's - the TV reality stars of "19 Kids and Counting" who just experienced a very late (20week) miscarriage on their 20th pregnancy. On the new board, the response was overwhelmingly and exclusively "that is so sad/tough, would never wish that on anyone, its making me tear up, can't imagine how hard that is for them" etc etc etc. On the old board the response was "that is sad, they really shouldn't be trying for kids, they are not being good parents" etc etc etc. I am pretty sure when I need support I will be posting on the new board, thank you very much.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Good, Bad, Ugly
The Good: Its Friday. Baby is the length of a spaghetti squash. I am feeling more and more movement. Football is on.
The Bad: Baby's movements add to my nausea. The comp time thing I explained a couple of days ago is not going to work, I will return to work after maternity leave with NO LEAVE. I need to get ant traps.
The Ugly: Our younger dog River is sick. Don't know if she ate something and its clogging things up or if she has a bug. Loads of diarrhea and vomit = fun stuff. She is still eating and defecating though, so hopefully things work out. (yes we have contacted a vet).
The Bad: Baby's movements add to my nausea. The comp time thing I explained a couple of days ago is not going to work, I will return to work after maternity leave with NO LEAVE. I need to get ant traps.
The Ugly: Our younger dog River is sick. Don't know if she ate something and its clogging things up or if she has a bug. Loads of diarrhea and vomit = fun stuff. She is still eating and defecating though, so hopefully things work out. (yes we have contacted a vet).
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Talkative Day...
I tried to do a big "picture catch up" post last night w/pictures from our anniversary, my parents visit, and a couple of other things, but they would not upload and I was not in the mood to give it a second go. I will try again soon.
I am now officially reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - the biggest book on my "read before the baby comes" list that I previously posted. The copy I have is 1455 pages long, which is about average I believe. I am on page 122 - which is both significant in that I am not even 10% of the way through, and that it took me this long to really get into it. The writing is extremely theatrical in nature/narration style. Most of the time, instead of stating what a character is feeling or thinking, Tolstoy describes some physical appearance or characteristic that is a "tell" as to how they are feeling, almost like it is a play and he is describing how the actor should portray the character. I do look forward to continuing it. The story itself is supposed to be of epic proportion - concerning the invasion of Napolean into Russia, but right now it is just your standard society scheming and plotting, courtship and inheritance, sex and death. I do look forward to continuing it and am definitely feeling like I can make it through, which I really did not feel like was an option 1-2 months ago. Therefore, I think my inability to read anything serious in the past couple of months was related to my own psyche - the chaos of friends leaving, stress at work, summer business, and not to pregnancy brain.
DH and I got cable back! They came and reinstalled basic cable for us on Tuesday morning. In the next week or so I will cancel our Netflix. I don't know if I have discussed this decision on here or not. You may or may not know that Netflix announced a significant price increase to take effect Sept 1st. Basically they are going from packages that combine DVD and streaming services to seperate packages for each, that cost the same as what we are currently paying for both. So in other words, we currently pay $9.99 for DVD and streaming service. If we wanted to continue getting the same service we would have to pay $7.99 for the DVDs and $7.99 for streaming, for an overall price of $15.98, a 60% price increase. My response to this was two-sided. The rational/calculating side of me recognized that we almost NEVER use the DVD service and we would probably wouldn't even miss it if we just switched to streaming and continued using Netflix. The less calculating side of me was pissed off big time. A company that's service is totally entertainment can't just raise their prices 60% and expect their not to be a backlash. And in this case, they gave no real justification for the price range - and denied most of the justifications provided by the media (expense increases etc). I felt like the company was being totally scheming and not being honest with its customers. SO, in short. The combination of the price raise itself, the way the company did not explain the price increase, and the impending start of football (which cable is highly convenient for), has made us decide to drop Netflix and get cable again. The expectation is we will keep cable at least through January/the BCS games, and then decide exactly what we want to do. We should have a little wee one then, and we are not entirely sure how that will play out in terms of TV usage. On one hand, DH and I agree that we want to significantly cut back our our media usage when baby arrives (TV and internet crap) - not overexpose them to it, not rely on it, and when they get older, limit their use. On the other hand, we fully recognize that a TV may be our best friend when it is 2am and we are up with a nursing or screaming infant, trying to keep ourselves awake - and that cable will be much more effective at this than broadcast that goes dead at night. So... wait and see wait and see... our mantra on SO many things.
I am clearly in a talkative mood today!! So why not keep it going. Want to hear about my crazy/creepy dream last night? I have spoken to a few people who have "movie" dreams - so I know they are not uncommon, but I am not sure if EVERYONE has them or not. Probably not. What I mean by movie dreams is dreams where you are in a movie - either a character or actor - and are aware of it, but still are experiencing the emotions and realistic feelings of the story itself - or maybe you switch between being a character and an audience member, or a character and a director, or anything like that. This was a movie dream. I dreamt I was in a store talking to the store owner, like a little convenience store. He asked me how things were going and I told him that things were good, that I was going to be in the 3rd Batman movie, and infact my plotline started as soon as I left this store. He seemed very concerned about tis and asked me what role I had and how my plotline went. I told him I did not know how it went exactly, but I was not worried because this was the third movie in a trilogy so I thought there must be a happy ending. He still seemed worried, wanted details on where I was going to start my plotline, what I knew about my role, etc. I gave him what info I had, he just seemed so suspicious, but I thought he was being paranoid. I eventually left the store and walked the block or two to my house where my plot started. I was supposed to go home and meet my husband for a nice datenight in. (Not real DH, a character husband). I went in to the house and something was clearly wrong. All the sudden gunmen appeared holding hubby hostage, and they took me hostage. They were clearly waiting for something, discussing amongst themselves what to do. Hubby and I were crouched in a corner trying not to cause problems. I was afraid, but still felt like things would turn out OK. I thought Batman would break in and rescue us, or perhaps the guy from the store that had been so concerned was actually a hero character. But no one came. The gunmen decided I needed to do something, like call the bank to transfer money or something? Or call the police to try and get batman to come? I am not entirely sure. They took me into the kitchen to make the call. When I came back to the front room, my hubby was hanging dead from the ceiling fan, they had killed him. I freaked out, it was unreal. I did not believe it was happening and tried to get him down, tried to beat up the gunmen, etc. I was yelling at them and too myself that this is not how my plotline went, that it couldn't be. Then all the sudden something clicked in my head and I realized I was not the protagonist of the movie, I was the bad guy. I was catwoman, and this was the little clip at the beginning of the movie that showed how I got to be so hateful and evil. That I was already blaming Batman for my husbands death because he HADNT showed up to save us. I could feel myself turning evil, and I knew there would be no happy ending. Then I woke up. Fun Stuff. For the record- there is a third Batman movie coming out soon, but I don't know how soon. It is the third in the trilogy they are doing, and it does have catwoman in it. That is about all I know about it, so its weird I had such a strange dream. I really don't know what the plot will be and the character of catwoman has always confused me (she just does not seem that evil?). I have not been reading/seeing ads for the new movie and have not thought about it in months, so I have no idea what brought it up. It will be interesting to see when the movie comes out if they do any sort of background for her. Also of interest - this bizarre dream, like earlier mentioned reading issues, is not a product of pregnancy. I know that people have vivid dreams during pregnancy - but really this dream was well within the normal paramaters of what my dreams are like.
While we are talking about dreams, this is actually the second dream of note I have had this week. On Saturday or Sunday night I dreamed that DH got a promotion at work, that he replaced someone above him whose job he was already doing - we were both very excited about it and I was proud. He was a bit worried about the additional stress, but we were both excited about the pay raise. This dream came without obvious prompting. Once again, promotion was not something we had talked about for months and I can't identify a clear trigger. In this case, however, it seems there MUST have been a trigger for it, because on Tuesday DH found out he is getting a promotion! While it won't be to replace someone as in the dream, it will make him so he is getting paid the same ammount as the other people on his team who do the same type of work. Premonition? Possible, but I don't really believe in them for such matters. More likely he did mention in passing something about his annual review coming up or whatever and my imagination did the rest. The point is - congrats DH!!! combine that w/my impending "step up" raise at work and things are looking good for little turtle to come (financially).
Is that enough rambling for one day? I think so. See you some other day...
I am now officially reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - the biggest book on my "read before the baby comes" list that I previously posted. The copy I have is 1455 pages long, which is about average I believe. I am on page 122 - which is both significant in that I am not even 10% of the way through, and that it took me this long to really get into it. The writing is extremely theatrical in nature/narration style. Most of the time, instead of stating what a character is feeling or thinking, Tolstoy describes some physical appearance or characteristic that is a "tell" as to how they are feeling, almost like it is a play and he is describing how the actor should portray the character. I do look forward to continuing it. The story itself is supposed to be of epic proportion - concerning the invasion of Napolean into Russia, but right now it is just your standard society scheming and plotting, courtship and inheritance, sex and death. I do look forward to continuing it and am definitely feeling like I can make it through, which I really did not feel like was an option 1-2 months ago. Therefore, I think my inability to read anything serious in the past couple of months was related to my own psyche - the chaos of friends leaving, stress at work, summer business, and not to pregnancy brain.
DH and I got cable back! They came and reinstalled basic cable for us on Tuesday morning. In the next week or so I will cancel our Netflix. I don't know if I have discussed this decision on here or not. You may or may not know that Netflix announced a significant price increase to take effect Sept 1st. Basically they are going from packages that combine DVD and streaming services to seperate packages for each, that cost the same as what we are currently paying for both. So in other words, we currently pay $9.99 for DVD and streaming service. If we wanted to continue getting the same service we would have to pay $7.99 for the DVDs and $7.99 for streaming, for an overall price of $15.98, a 60% price increase. My response to this was two-sided. The rational/calculating side of me recognized that we almost NEVER use the DVD service and we would probably wouldn't even miss it if we just switched to streaming and continued using Netflix. The less calculating side of me was pissed off big time. A company that's service is totally entertainment can't just raise their prices 60% and expect their not to be a backlash. And in this case, they gave no real justification for the price range - and denied most of the justifications provided by the media (expense increases etc). I felt like the company was being totally scheming and not being honest with its customers. SO, in short. The combination of the price raise itself, the way the company did not explain the price increase, and the impending start of football (which cable is highly convenient for), has made us decide to drop Netflix and get cable again. The expectation is we will keep cable at least through January/the BCS games, and then decide exactly what we want to do. We should have a little wee one then, and we are not entirely sure how that will play out in terms of TV usage. On one hand, DH and I agree that we want to significantly cut back our our media usage when baby arrives (TV and internet crap) - not overexpose them to it, not rely on it, and when they get older, limit their use. On the other hand, we fully recognize that a TV may be our best friend when it is 2am and we are up with a nursing or screaming infant, trying to keep ourselves awake - and that cable will be much more effective at this than broadcast that goes dead at night. So... wait and see wait and see... our mantra on SO many things.
I am clearly in a talkative mood today!! So why not keep it going. Want to hear about my crazy/creepy dream last night? I have spoken to a few people who have "movie" dreams - so I know they are not uncommon, but I am not sure if EVERYONE has them or not. Probably not. What I mean by movie dreams is dreams where you are in a movie - either a character or actor - and are aware of it, but still are experiencing the emotions and realistic feelings of the story itself - or maybe you switch between being a character and an audience member, or a character and a director, or anything like that. This was a movie dream. I dreamt I was in a store talking to the store owner, like a little convenience store. He asked me how things were going and I told him that things were good, that I was going to be in the 3rd Batman movie, and infact my plotline started as soon as I left this store. He seemed very concerned about tis and asked me what role I had and how my plotline went. I told him I did not know how it went exactly, but I was not worried because this was the third movie in a trilogy so I thought there must be a happy ending. He still seemed worried, wanted details on where I was going to start my plotline, what I knew about my role, etc. I gave him what info I had, he just seemed so suspicious, but I thought he was being paranoid. I eventually left the store and walked the block or two to my house where my plot started. I was supposed to go home and meet my husband for a nice datenight in. (Not real DH, a character husband). I went in to the house and something was clearly wrong. All the sudden gunmen appeared holding hubby hostage, and they took me hostage. They were clearly waiting for something, discussing amongst themselves what to do. Hubby and I were crouched in a corner trying not to cause problems. I was afraid, but still felt like things would turn out OK. I thought Batman would break in and rescue us, or perhaps the guy from the store that had been so concerned was actually a hero character. But no one came. The gunmen decided I needed to do something, like call the bank to transfer money or something? Or call the police to try and get batman to come? I am not entirely sure. They took me into the kitchen to make the call. When I came back to the front room, my hubby was hanging dead from the ceiling fan, they had killed him. I freaked out, it was unreal. I did not believe it was happening and tried to get him down, tried to beat up the gunmen, etc. I was yelling at them and too myself that this is not how my plotline went, that it couldn't be. Then all the sudden something clicked in my head and I realized I was not the protagonist of the movie, I was the bad guy. I was catwoman, and this was the little clip at the beginning of the movie that showed how I got to be so hateful and evil. That I was already blaming Batman for my husbands death because he HADNT showed up to save us. I could feel myself turning evil, and I knew there would be no happy ending. Then I woke up. Fun Stuff. For the record- there is a third Batman movie coming out soon, but I don't know how soon. It is the third in the trilogy they are doing, and it does have catwoman in it. That is about all I know about it, so its weird I had such a strange dream. I really don't know what the plot will be and the character of catwoman has always confused me (she just does not seem that evil?). I have not been reading/seeing ads for the new movie and have not thought about it in months, so I have no idea what brought it up. It will be interesting to see when the movie comes out if they do any sort of background for her. Also of interest - this bizarre dream, like earlier mentioned reading issues, is not a product of pregnancy. I know that people have vivid dreams during pregnancy - but really this dream was well within the normal paramaters of what my dreams are like.
While we are talking about dreams, this is actually the second dream of note I have had this week. On Saturday or Sunday night I dreamed that DH got a promotion at work, that he replaced someone above him whose job he was already doing - we were both very excited about it and I was proud. He was a bit worried about the additional stress, but we were both excited about the pay raise. This dream came without obvious prompting. Once again, promotion was not something we had talked about for months and I can't identify a clear trigger. In this case, however, it seems there MUST have been a trigger for it, because on Tuesday DH found out he is getting a promotion! While it won't be to replace someone as in the dream, it will make him so he is getting paid the same ammount as the other people on his team who do the same type of work. Premonition? Possible, but I don't really believe in them for such matters. More likely he did mention in passing something about his annual review coming up or whatever and my imagination did the rest. The point is - congrats DH!!! combine that w/my impending "step up" raise at work and things are looking good for little turtle to come (financially).
Is that enough rambling for one day? I think so. See you some other day...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Sims
Familiar with the game "The Sims"? Basically, you are controlling fake little peoples lives - telling then when to eat, what job to have, when to sleep, when to pee, everything. Once of the most challenging times in the game is pregnancy. The pregnant Sim is very difficult to care for - if you are not careful she could "leave" (the equivalent of dying). The problem occurs if she gets home from work and exhausted and starving - you get stuck in this cycle where she desperately needs sleep, but is too hungry/has to pee to much to sleep more than 5 minutes, but when you send her to the fridge she falls asleep half way through making the meal, etc etc.
In short... this weekend has me feeling like a Sim!
It began with the football game...
So, the result of the game was 30-28 Lions, which made Aaron and I happy, and did not upset Brown's fan Eric too much as it was preseason.
In short... this weekend has me feeling like a Sim!
It began with the football game...
Friday night, DH and I, as well as his work friend Eric that I am getting to know and like, left Columbus around 4pm and drove up to Cleveland to attend the Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions preseason NFL game. It was a ton of fun! We had great seats, a couple rows in on the South endzone. It was cool to be so close to the field and also made for some great pictures:
So, the result of the game was 30-28 Lions, which made Aaron and I happy, and did not upset Brown's fan Eric too much as it was preseason. As planned, I drove home. We arrived home at 2:15am.
The problem being... I needed to work Overtime on Saturday. Preferably 8 hours. And the building was only open for overtime from 7am-4pm.
Why you ask? Because maternity leave in America sucks. Seriously. Makes me want to be in Europe more than any time before. In Austria, you get 16 weeks paid (as well as options for unpaid/partial paid). In Denmark, you get 52 weeks as a couple and can divide it between the father and mother. In America? You are at the mercy of your company, with your only guarentee being 12 weeks unpaid if you are somewhere FMLA applies.
The policy with my employer, the state of Ohio, is as follows:
Week 1-2 You are required to either wait through an unpaid waiting period, or use 2 weeks of your own leave.
Week 3-6 70% pay, can be supplemented by your leave if you want full pay.
Week 7-12 FMLA applies.
I was initially under the impression that when FMLA kicked in, I could just at my disgression go unpaid for those final 6 weeks (preserving a little sick and vacation time for when I came back to work with a 3 month old in daycare). However, it came to my attention that there is a clause in FMLA that makes it even more sucky - the employer is only requierd to give it to you if you have no leave of your own to take. In other words, if I want to stay home more than 6 weeks, then I have to use all of my leave up in week 7,8 etc until I am entirely out of sick, vacation, and personal time, and then and only then can I finish out 12 weeks off unpaid. *sigh*. This puts me in quite a bad spot.
Go back to work and drop a 6 week old off with a stranger/sitter (which for me personally seems impossible... so little) OR return to work after 12 weeks, with absolutely NO LEAVE- can't leave early because the baby is sick, can't schedule a Drs appt, can't get sick, have to scrape time together for upcoming family events like my Brother's wedding and sister's graduation that will be coming up. Both seem equally impossible.
There is the possability, the wisp, of hope. My pregnant coworker found a little policy somewhere in the handbook that implied there is ONE kind of leave you can save through FMLA - and that type is Compensatory Time. Paid time off you earn in liueu of pay when you work overtime. We have not yet confirmed this is true, but until we find out one way or the other, we have to assume it is, because overtime is not expected to last. When the Federal Fiscal year ends in October, we will no longer be allowed overtime, that means there are 6 Saturdays between this weekend and when October in which for me to earn comp time... 2 of which I am planning to be out of town. So I could not miss one.
I know. Way too much explanation. BUT that is why, after getting home at 2:15am on Saturday morning, I climbed out of bed at 6:30AM to go to work for 8 hrs. I still have not recovered. My body just doesn't want to sleep to catch up, despite me needing it, and the messed up sleeping schedule has me sick as well ("morning sick") and unable to find anything I want to eat.
I am a Sim. Sleep a little. Try to eat something, fail. And tomorrow is Monday.
DH asked me if the game was worth it, and it was. The real question is... will the overtime be worth it? I really hope that it will... cross your fingers
Thursday, June 16, 2011
So I should post or something?
The weather here has been gorgeous. Absolutely fantastic. For the past 6 days it has been partially cloudy w/temps from 60-75 degrees. Wonderful. Today it finally "broke" and rained. It rained on and off throughout the day, and then poured for the last hour or so. Now we are back to partially cloudy.
In other good news, we got a new couch - at least new to us! Our friend who is getting a new free couch from her Grandma (a furniture addict), is giving us her old couch and chair. They are in pretty good shape, way better than our $20 3-5 yr old goodwill couches we have been using. I need to get covers for them due to the floral print, but its nice to have a full size couch!! And for free. DH and I make our priorities pretty clear... 56" television, gaming systems, nice king size bed and 27" flat panel in the bedroom... $20 goodwill couches. LOL. So, a new, free couch is super exciting.
I am officially 12 weeks along in my pregnancy today. People keep telling me "its a good place to be". I tell them it is a good place to be if everything is going well, and I will feel really good about it next week when I hear the heartbeat again! 7 days.
It is summer vacation season. That means that a lot of people at work are out, so I am expected to spend a lot of time each day helping out on other people's desks. Luckily things are under control on my desk, so it isn't a big deal, but it can create some awkward or frustrating situations. Like today my supervisor asked that we concentrate on this one person's quality assurance returns - as in, these are cases that my coworker finished and tried to send out of the building, but it got pulled and checked for quality and rejected in dramatic fashion with a list of a gajillion things to fix. Um. (1) I dont want to find out how many ways my coworker screws his cases up and (2) these are by far the most annoying types of cases to work on, even when they are alone, let alone doing someone elses. Oh well.
That completes my random thoughts for the day :-)
In other good news, we got a new couch - at least new to us! Our friend who is getting a new free couch from her Grandma (a furniture addict), is giving us her old couch and chair. They are in pretty good shape, way better than our $20 3-5 yr old goodwill couches we have been using. I need to get covers for them due to the floral print, but its nice to have a full size couch!! And for free. DH and I make our priorities pretty clear... 56" television, gaming systems, nice king size bed and 27" flat panel in the bedroom... $20 goodwill couches. LOL. So, a new, free couch is super exciting.
I am officially 12 weeks along in my pregnancy today. People keep telling me "its a good place to be". I tell them it is a good place to be if everything is going well, and I will feel really good about it next week when I hear the heartbeat again! 7 days.
It is summer vacation season. That means that a lot of people at work are out, so I am expected to spend a lot of time each day helping out on other people's desks. Luckily things are under control on my desk, so it isn't a big deal, but it can create some awkward or frustrating situations. Like today my supervisor asked that we concentrate on this one person's quality assurance returns - as in, these are cases that my coworker finished and tried to send out of the building, but it got pulled and checked for quality and rejected in dramatic fashion with a list of a gajillion things to fix. Um. (1) I dont want to find out how many ways my coworker screws his cases up and (2) these are by far the most annoying types of cases to work on, even when they are alone, let alone doing someone elses. Oh well.
That completes my random thoughts for the day :-)
Friday, April 29, 2011
1/3
Tomorrow is April 30th. Sunday is May 1st. Measuring by months, we will be 1/3 of the way through the year. Time certainly does fly. And as far as I know, it will just go faster.
Work. People keep asking me "has work calmed down?". The answer is yes and no. There have not been any new changes in the past few weeks (since the implementation of the dress code), so that is good. But there is a lot of drama/gossip concerning SB5 going around. (the Anti-Union legislation that was passed in Ohio under the new governor.) Additionally, without OT, and with my low motivation levels, and recent use of a lot of sick time, I have been treading water instead of swimming laps around my pending - just keeping my head above water. Its not bad and I certainly am not behind or in trouble, its just not as pleasant as it was to be ahead and be helping other people out. We found out we will get OT back soon, but because of new rule changes it will only be available on Saturday's and will not help your individual pending. I doubt I will be doing much, especially in May, since I have so many weekend plans already laid out.
I went to a used book sale at work earlier this week. They had universally marked all of their hardcovers as $1 and all paperbacks as $.50. I feel like I robbed them. I bought a copy of Mockingjay and Catching Fire - hardcovers in brand new mint condition, all shiny and pretty, for $2 total. I have the urge to say that if you have never heard of these books you live under a rock, but that is not true. But, they are massively popular. They are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Hunger Games trilogy. Still don't know what I am talking about? I guess that just means you don't follow the literary world/books much. Mockingjay was considered the "savior" or the 2010 financial year for publishers. It is not as big as Harry Potter or Twilight, but it definitely has a following. They are currently working on the first movie, which will star that young actress from Winter's Bone that was nominated for an Oscar. I am both skeptical the movie. The book is a Young Adult book, but it is very violent and dark. I am not sure how they can both please parents and readers. I am not sure how they can show some of the images that were described and not have it be rated R. We will see what happens. THE POINT is that these books are worth way more than #1. Probably $20 a piece new, $15 used. Now I just need to find a nice copy of the first book and I will have added nicely to my book collection.
There are ideas swirling in my head about new projects with regards to the use of our bedrooms, they are such a disaster. With any luck we will be selling out house withint he next year, and things really need to get straightened out a bit. In an ideal world (OK... not in an ideal world... in an ideal world we would win the Powerball and be back in Duluth without caring if we sold this house and have a nice mansion on the lake... but in a realistic but ideal world...), we would
(1) get bookshelves for all the books that are in the closet in the red room.
(2) clean out the yellow room which is currently storage, organize its contents and move the contents to the red room closet in a manor that allowed for future use of said contents.
(3) re-paint the yellow room to a color or shade that doesn't give me a migraine, and reinstall the closet so that it is officially a bedroom
(4) Re-organize the green room so things are findable and move any overflow from it to the red room.
Did I mention we have way too much space? All the above rooms (red, green, yellow) are essentially "spare bedrooms". They all have massive closets. Perhaps I should post picture to demonstrate... perhaps another day.
Work. People keep asking me "has work calmed down?". The answer is yes and no. There have not been any new changes in the past few weeks (since the implementation of the dress code), so that is good. But there is a lot of drama/gossip concerning SB5 going around. (the Anti-Union legislation that was passed in Ohio under the new governor.) Additionally, without OT, and with my low motivation levels, and recent use of a lot of sick time, I have been treading water instead of swimming laps around my pending - just keeping my head above water. Its not bad and I certainly am not behind or in trouble, its just not as pleasant as it was to be ahead and be helping other people out. We found out we will get OT back soon, but because of new rule changes it will only be available on Saturday's and will not help your individual pending. I doubt I will be doing much, especially in May, since I have so many weekend plans already laid out.
I went to a used book sale at work earlier this week. They had universally marked all of their hardcovers as $1 and all paperbacks as $.50. I feel like I robbed them. I bought a copy of Mockingjay and Catching Fire - hardcovers in brand new mint condition, all shiny and pretty, for $2 total. I have the urge to say that if you have never heard of these books you live under a rock, but that is not true. But, they are massively popular. They are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Hunger Games trilogy. Still don't know what I am talking about? I guess that just means you don't follow the literary world/books much. Mockingjay was considered the "savior" or the 2010 financial year for publishers. It is not as big as Harry Potter or Twilight, but it definitely has a following. They are currently working on the first movie, which will star that young actress from Winter's Bone that was nominated for an Oscar. I am both skeptical the movie. The book is a Young Adult book, but it is very violent and dark. I am not sure how they can both please parents and readers. I am not sure how they can show some of the images that were described and not have it be rated R. We will see what happens. THE POINT is that these books are worth way more than #1. Probably $20 a piece new, $15 used. Now I just need to find a nice copy of the first book and I will have added nicely to my book collection.
There are ideas swirling in my head about new projects with regards to the use of our bedrooms, they are such a disaster. With any luck we will be selling out house withint he next year, and things really need to get straightened out a bit. In an ideal world (OK... not in an ideal world... in an ideal world we would win the Powerball and be back in Duluth without caring if we sold this house and have a nice mansion on the lake... but in a realistic but ideal world...), we would
(1) get bookshelves for all the books that are in the closet in the red room.
(2) clean out the yellow room which is currently storage, organize its contents and move the contents to the red room closet in a manor that allowed for future use of said contents.
(3) re-paint the yellow room to a color or shade that doesn't give me a migraine, and reinstall the closet so that it is officially a bedroom
(4) Re-organize the green room so things are findable and move any overflow from it to the red room.
Did I mention we have way too much space? All the above rooms (red, green, yellow) are essentially "spare bedrooms". They all have massive closets. Perhaps I should post picture to demonstrate... perhaps another day.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday (ish)
Another week gone.
No big surprises this week at work. Uneventful. I will take it!!
It got really warm and summerlike here for about 7 days, and now its around freezing again. I am totally OK with that. The warmth was not horrible, but I just wasn't ready for it really to be coming.
I hosted book club last night and therefore my downstairs is very clean. Its nice. It took me 2.5 hrs to totally clean out - declutter, vacuum, dishes, etc. I also made buffalo chicken dip (also known as crack dip, because its addictive). Small turnout - only two people came! But it was still fun. The book was crazy depressing, about what could theoretically happen if someone set off an EMP over the U.S. It made me want to be in Duluth. Everything these days makes me want to be in Duluth. Come on job gods, give DH a job.
Thats it. Animals are all good. No big plans this weekend, just chillaxed. Motivation still low but not bottomed out like it was. Life is good.
No big surprises this week at work. Uneventful. I will take it!!
It got really warm and summerlike here for about 7 days, and now its around freezing again. I am totally OK with that. The warmth was not horrible, but I just wasn't ready for it really to be coming.
I hosted book club last night and therefore my downstairs is very clean. Its nice. It took me 2.5 hrs to totally clean out - declutter, vacuum, dishes, etc. I also made buffalo chicken dip (also known as crack dip, because its addictive). Small turnout - only two people came! But it was still fun. The book was crazy depressing, about what could theoretically happen if someone set off an EMP over the U.S. It made me want to be in Duluth. Everything these days makes me want to be in Duluth. Come on job gods, give DH a job.
Thats it. Animals are all good. No big plans this weekend, just chillaxed. Motivation still low but not bottomed out like it was. Life is good.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Friday was worse than Thursday at work. Plus I had a migraine. It was not fun. I came home sick and spent the afternoon trying various methods of getting rid of it.
DH's motorcycle also got delivered on Friday, and he is enjoying it.
We went to see Les Miserables last night, and it was quite good. The set is amazing.
Today we ran up to Medina to see my Uncle and Aunt. It was a nice afternoon.
I am really glad I had the weekend to step back and mentally reset for work. Things have been so negative, I need to change my thinking. Tommorrow I will go to work, do my job, and come home. I will not get wrapped up in the drama of rule changes and budget problems. I will not succomb to the miserable mood. It is just a job, not life, not the end of the world.
DH's motorcycle also got delivered on Friday, and he is enjoying it.
We went to see Les Miserables last night, and it was quite good. The set is amazing.
Today we ran up to Medina to see my Uncle and Aunt. It was a nice afternoon.
I am really glad I had the weekend to step back and mentally reset for work. Things have been so negative, I need to change my thinking. Tommorrow I will go to work, do my job, and come home. I will not get wrapped up in the drama of rule changes and budget problems. I will not succomb to the miserable mood. It is just a job, not life, not the end of the world.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Workplace Blues
More changes.
A sense of doom and "they are out to get us" is pervading my entire workplace and slowly my mind. Morale is so low and dropping everyday.
I need to start applying to Minnesota jobs.
A sense of doom and "they are out to get us" is pervading my entire workplace and slowly my mind. Morale is so low and dropping everyday.
I need to start applying to Minnesota jobs.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
News From Columbus
DH bought a motorcycle!! I have not seen it yet, should be delivered soon. He has wanted one for years. At first I said no because of safety. Then I started working for the bureau of disability and my view changed. For awhile I have said no because of money, but DH has come up with a bunch of ways to save money that don't affect me, that all add up to MORE than a motorcycle:
(1) He is not going to the Kentucky Derby this year.
(2) We are using his work rewards program to pay for my Starbucks habit
(3) I am driving the Chrylser to save on gas money
(4) He is no longer eating out at lunch.
(5) He is changing parking garages to a cheaper option
So, here comes the motorcycle!!!
Other news - I got really excited when I found out that "Deadliest Catch" is coming to Columbus in may! Its a speaking tour featuring 3 of the captains. I am SO excited. Like, jumping up and down excited. DH bought tickets this morning. It will be my B-day celebration, we can go out for seafood and then to see the captains talk!!
Other news - OT has been discontinued, effective immediately mid day friday. They literally sent people home in the middle of the day if they were in overtime status. We are thinking this has to do with how the budget negotiations are going in Washington, since its SSA that pays our OT and SSA that decided to stop giving it to us right now.
Other news - I went furniture shopping with a friend last Saturday. We hit 9 consignment and antique stores across Columbus, and found nothing. I was hoping to get book shelves, but no luck. But, it was a very fun day with my friend. I introduced him to El Vaquero. How do you live in Cbus for 5 years and not know what it is??
Other news - I have two books to read in the next 2 weeks, and I am 50 pgs into one with no motivation. *sigh*.
That is all.
(1) He is not going to the Kentucky Derby this year.
(2) We are using his work rewards program to pay for my Starbucks habit
(3) I am driving the Chrylser to save on gas money
(4) He is no longer eating out at lunch.
(5) He is changing parking garages to a cheaper option
So, here comes the motorcycle!!!
Other news - I got really excited when I found out that "Deadliest Catch" is coming to Columbus in may! Its a speaking tour featuring 3 of the captains. I am SO excited. Like, jumping up and down excited. DH bought tickets this morning. It will be my B-day celebration, we can go out for seafood and then to see the captains talk!!
Other news - OT has been discontinued, effective immediately mid day friday. They literally sent people home in the middle of the day if they were in overtime status. We are thinking this has to do with how the budget negotiations are going in Washington, since its SSA that pays our OT and SSA that decided to stop giving it to us right now.
Other news - I went furniture shopping with a friend last Saturday. We hit 9 consignment and antique stores across Columbus, and found nothing. I was hoping to get book shelves, but no luck. But, it was a very fun day with my friend. I introduced him to El Vaquero. How do you live in Cbus for 5 years and not know what it is??
Other news - I have two books to read in the next 2 weeks, and I am 50 pgs into one with no motivation. *sigh*.
That is all.
Friday, March 4, 2011
More Work Changes
This morning my classical radio host's weather report was "rain all day, but you probably figured that out by now". It was not raining though, and it did not even look like rain. It didn't start raining here for about another 2 hrs, but it has not stopped since then. I keep managing to wear the wrong jacket. Yesterday it looked so sunny and nice out I wore my light jacket, only to have it be below freezing. Today I thought "it was cold yesterday, so I will wear my winter jacket", only to have it pour, when it sucks for rain. I guess I should read a weather report or something.
More changes at work, these unrelated to the new director. They have been in the works for sometime, involving the leave policy and discipline grids. They are making it more difficult to take leave on short notice and easier, or even required, for supervisors to deny leave if people's desks are not caught up. When I say desk with regards to work, it means the same thing as pending, which is the same thing as saying caseload. As in, I don't mean my physical desk is messy, I mean my electronic desk, or "to do" list has lots on it, or a lot of things that are urgent or overdue. So in other words, if you are not caught up on your work you can be denied leave, even if it was planned months in advance, even if you have plane tickets, even if it is your only daughter's wedding, etc etc etc. People are not happy. It kind of sucks. It also sounds like they may be cracking down on our ability to flex our schedules (change them from week to week to make way for things like appts, illness, whatever), though I won't know that until I get the training on 3/17. These changes are annoying, but its not the end of the world. I think the biggest issue going on at my work right now is that they are changing all of these policies at once, all in a way that is more stringent or less worker friendly. Essentially they are taking away many of the non-monetary "perks" of the job - casual dress, schedule flexability, leave flexability, and the general sense of contentment and happiness in the building. I mean, when I started there everyone talked about what a great place it was to work, how friendly everyone was, how flexible things were. That has all changed rapidly. Here is the "doom" possability - they currently are removing all non-monetary perks. With or without SB5 (the anti-union legislation being worked on by the state government here), it is extremely probable that there will either be significant cuts in pay, benefits, or the instution of a lot more "cost saving days" (forced unpaid leave). With the federal government budget issues, its possible overtime will be cut. If all of this combines, I forsee a lot of unhappy employees and a lot of people looking to get out of the organization - not a good thing when they are trying to increase the ammt of people doing this job because the caseload is so high. We shall see. I don't plan to leave despite any of these things, unless its to move to Minnesota.
We had classics bookclub last night. We read Alice in Wonderland and went to the Mellow Mushroom, which has giant mushrooms in it, so very fitting. It was annoying that two people cancelled on us when there is only 6 to begin with. 7 now I guess. We had a new girl last night and she fit in great, I hope she liked us and keeps coming.
I am watching Deadliest Catch again. Wouldn't be surprised if I end up watching the rest of season 2 this weekend, I have no other plans, not even a symphony. DH is on call and I just have not made social plans recently. I don't know what it is about this show, but I love it.
My sister closed on a house yesterday. I am super excited for her. I wish I was in Duluth to help her pick out paint colors and such. It is a major fixer-upper, so they won't be moving in for awhile until they can make some changes.
I am hungry, hope DH calls soon and brings home dinner.
More changes at work, these unrelated to the new director. They have been in the works for sometime, involving the leave policy and discipline grids. They are making it more difficult to take leave on short notice and easier, or even required, for supervisors to deny leave if people's desks are not caught up. When I say desk with regards to work, it means the same thing as pending, which is the same thing as saying caseload. As in, I don't mean my physical desk is messy, I mean my electronic desk, or "to do" list has lots on it, or a lot of things that are urgent or overdue. So in other words, if you are not caught up on your work you can be denied leave, even if it was planned months in advance, even if you have plane tickets, even if it is your only daughter's wedding, etc etc etc. People are not happy. It kind of sucks. It also sounds like they may be cracking down on our ability to flex our schedules (change them from week to week to make way for things like appts, illness, whatever), though I won't know that until I get the training on 3/17. These changes are annoying, but its not the end of the world. I think the biggest issue going on at my work right now is that they are changing all of these policies at once, all in a way that is more stringent or less worker friendly. Essentially they are taking away many of the non-monetary "perks" of the job - casual dress, schedule flexability, leave flexability, and the general sense of contentment and happiness in the building. I mean, when I started there everyone talked about what a great place it was to work, how friendly everyone was, how flexible things were. That has all changed rapidly. Here is the "doom" possability - they currently are removing all non-monetary perks. With or without SB5 (the anti-union legislation being worked on by the state government here), it is extremely probable that there will either be significant cuts in pay, benefits, or the instution of a lot more "cost saving days" (forced unpaid leave). With the federal government budget issues, its possible overtime will be cut. If all of this combines, I forsee a lot of unhappy employees and a lot of people looking to get out of the organization - not a good thing when they are trying to increase the ammt of people doing this job because the caseload is so high. We shall see. I don't plan to leave despite any of these things, unless its to move to Minnesota.
We had classics bookclub last night. We read Alice in Wonderland and went to the Mellow Mushroom, which has giant mushrooms in it, so very fitting. It was annoying that two people cancelled on us when there is only 6 to begin with. 7 now I guess. We had a new girl last night and she fit in great, I hope she liked us and keeps coming.
I am watching Deadliest Catch again. Wouldn't be surprised if I end up watching the rest of season 2 this weekend, I have no other plans, not even a symphony. DH is on call and I just have not made social plans recently. I don't know what it is about this show, but I love it.
My sister closed on a house yesterday. I am super excited for her. I wish I was in Duluth to help her pick out paint colors and such. It is a major fixer-upper, so they won't be moving in for awhile until they can make some changes.
I am hungry, hope DH calls soon and brings home dinner.
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