One Helluva Week

And it's really only been since Wednesday afternoon... so maybe I should title this post one helluva way to end the week...

I talk about work on here from time to time, but it's not a topic I dive very much into. I feel like keeping my work life separate from this blog is a good idea. I wouldn't want to say anything mean and then everyone at works knows I'm talking bad about somebody... and quite frankly a lot of my stresses at work are hard to explain to those that do not understand my job.

Well, around this joint the mantra is always apply for any jobs that you are eligible for... apply apply apply. So that's what I do... I want to keep my options open and I need to get to the next pay scale in order to become eligible for what I'm now going to call my "dream job" of a project manager. Well, I applied for this position in a different department still within my organization. I currently work in programs and this job would be in fiscal department.

I ended up getting an interview. I didn't really want this job... it's not my ideal choice... but I went through the motions. I even did the whole interview to get experience interviewing when a job you really want comes along. The interview was a little over a week ago and on Wednesday I was offered the position. I was really hoping I wouldn't be in this spot to have to decide about a job I love (my current one) and a new job that I'm not sure I'll like and takes me out of the area I want to stay in. Let me interject to say that I'm so thrilled they picked me. I'm so proud of myself for making it through the HR process and nailing the interview (something I usually blow at)... but in the end it was a really really tough position.

I talked to some people here would are familiar with the way out system works and the people involved. I talked to Chad and my parents. I even ended up talking to my boss and every one of them believed the right idea was to take the position. So mid-morning today I accepted the position. It will be on a different pay scale and it's slightly more money in the short term and a lot more money in the long term. I will need a year at this grade in order to apply based on merit for my "dream job". So it's great to have this step available to me.

Does anyone sense that the story isn't over yet??

Well, about 3 hours after I accepted the position I got a call about another job I had applied for. One I'm very much interested in that I thought fell off the face of the earth. It's more in line with what I want to do in my career and it's a better ladder position (meaning that not only will I start a pay scale higher than I'm currently at, in as short as another year I could be moved into the pay scale above that). I'm just at a loss... this week has not gone the way I expected it to. I think I know how I'm going to handle the situation... but man... life is funny sometimes... like when it rains it pours... or something like that.

Either way... I have a new position... so go me!!

Fridge

We have a new appliance in our house... that's right folks, we now have a brand spankin' new refrigerator!! Look at this bad boy!!

It's a Kenmore 20 cubic feet, bottom freezer door, energy efficient, black, awesome refrigerator. About 4 or 5 months ago our fridge began to make an awful noise. It kind of sounded like someone using a hand drill in the next room. And it was only getting louder. It wasn't making that noise all the time, but it was making it often enough... We knew that at some point the old fridge was going to die... but we didn't have the money at the time.

My dad heard about our fridge and ended up helping us out. And last week Missouri was waiving state sales tax on all energy efficient appliances. (Oh how nice it would have been to also buy a new stove, dishwasher, and overhead microwave too... oh I can dream can't I??) So it was a pretty good week to look for a new fridge. And this guy was is what we found.

We were originally thinking that we wanted a stainless steel fridge, but what I didn't realize until we got to the store was exactly how much more stainless steel appliances were. We knew we absolutely did NOT want white and have you seen that awful color called bisque? It's like yucky off-white. I think that's what our fridge currently is. But now it's a black beauty! I think it won't show dirty like the old one... and black fits our kitchen better anyway.

I was also concerned that the new fridge wouldn't be magnetic. I really enjoy having things hung up on the fridge like invites or pictures... we even have our wedding invite still hanging up. But Chad tested it out when it came this afternoon and it's magnetic... holla!!

I'm so happy to have a brand new appliance... it's very exciting... maybe we'll get to replace some of those other appliances soon too!!

My special bracelet

I typically wear the same jewelry every day... I have my engagement/wedding ring, either my pink sapphire ring or my purple stone right, a necklace (either my kangaroo or blue topaz) and my bracelet. This is the story of the bracelet.

When I first went away to college my grandma bought me some gifts. One of the things she bought me was this bracelet.

It says, Life is a Journey, not a destination... on the inside it says enjoy the moments. I absolutely love this bracelet. I wear it everyday all the time. Sadly, maybe about 3 years after I got it, I broke it. It snapped in half. I guess it has something to do with wearing it all the time. It got caught on my blanket or sheet while I was sleep and yank... it was in half before I could do anything about it. I was soo soo sad.

I guess I made this pretty clear to everyone because for my next birthday (22nd I believe) my grandma got me the exact same bracelet. I was so happy and treated my second bracelet better than the first. I'm much more careful and don't expand/tighten it as I use to do. I've kept much better care of it b/c I still have it today and it's in great condition.

Like I said, I wear it all the time... I even wore it on the most special day of my life thus far... my wedding day.
This bracelet will hopefully be around for a long long time... it really holds a special place in my heart, because not only did my grandma give it to me, it says such an important phrase. I love how skinny it is how well it fits my wrist. It really means a lot to me.

Lately I'm Loving

I've seen this done on a few blogs and today seems like the perfect day to think about all the things I'm loving... or things on my mind in general!

• Butterfinger Snackerz - Have you tried these things? They are totally delicious, they are the perfect amount of chocolate butterfinger favor and cruch. They are much much better than a regular butterfinger and doesn't get all stuck in your teeth.

• Diet Mountain Dew - I never thought I could make the switch to diet soda, but I'll say I've done a pretty good job, especially since Mt Dew is currently doing a new diet flavor contest... I've tried the Voltage and Supernova (that may be the only two)... both are pretty tasty. According to their website Supernova is the winner, which is cool, since it's probably my favorite.
  
  


• TLC - The channel... I'm not sure if I've every mentioned it on the blog, but I am addicted to the show Sister Wives. I started watching it last season just to see what it was like. I do enjoy watching shows about different kinds of families and I wanted to see what this one was like. I will say I did not expect it to be this way, but it is amazing. I feel like I'm telling everyone to watch this show. While it's not a lifestyle I would want, they do a good job of explaining why they do enjoy the lifestyle. I thought it would involve a egotistical male with a bunch of wives, but it's not that at all. The women on the show are empowered and really do look like they're having fun. I've also been watching Extreme Couponing. That show just makes me feel like I'm missing out on a crap ton of details out there! I feel like I should start utilizing couponing. Watch the show, those people get like $600 worth of grocerys for like $10... I think they put a ton of work into doing it, but man is it impressive!
  

• All things William and Kate - I'm a little embarressed to mention this fact, but I'm borderline obsessed with the royal wedding and I have absolutely no clue why. Anything I see on TV that has something to do with them I've been recording and part of me wants to wake up super early next Friday to watch the wedding. I think I must have major problems. I don't really understand where this fascination has come from... but man I even got suckered into the made for TV movie on Lifetime about their relationship. (at least it was better than Craigslist Killer)

• Storms - St. Louis has had som crazy weather so far this year. This past week we've had at least two storms that involved hail. I love these big thunderstorms... especially when I'm home laying in bed... maybe with the window open. The rain is calming and thunder to me is so neat to listen to. I may be alone on this, but I love me a good thunderstorm.

So there's a short list of the things that are on my mind. I bet as soon as I publish this post I'm going to come up with someone else that I meant to write about.

Grandparents

Last Saturday I spent the day visiting with family. My mom, brother and I took my grandma (mom's mom) to visit my other grandparents (dad's parents). As you probably know from reading this blog my parents are divorced. So it might seem strange that my mom and her mom are visiting my dad's parents... but for me it doesn't seem strange at all. My parents were able to maintain a friendly relationship for the sake of my brother and me. I think this is one of the biggest reasons that their divorce did "screw me up". My grandparents were also able to remain friends.

I am lucky to say that I still have 75% of my grandparents around. Sadly we lost my grandpa (mom's dad) 10 years ago this November. It's a sad topic and I still get a little teary eyed thinking about it. I've wanted to write a post about my grandpa for awhile, but I just haven't wanted to tackle it. Hopefully soon...

But that's not really the point of this blog entry.... on Sunday we visited my grandparents. They live in Cuba, MO so I don't get to see them as often as I should. They are getting older, my grandma is in her early 90's and my grandpa is in his late 80's. They are doing very well, I really feel like my grandma will never die... nothing can get her down. She bounces back from everything it seems and it seems like my grandpa never gets sick. They still live on their own in the same house that we would visit in the summers.

We did a lot of driving around to get out to Cuba. We started off in South County, drove to O'Fallon to pick up my grandma (mom's mom) then to Eureka, MO to pick up Phil's BBQ. Phil's is a south county/city BBQ place. It was by my grandparent's other home. So we typically bring it b/c it's easy and tasty. Then we went from Eureka out to Cuba. And of course we had to make our way back, luckily we didn't have to stop back in Eureka.

I think all of my grandparents has a fun time visiting with each other. Especially my dad's parents. I really think they can get a little lonely, especially my grandma who can't really get out of the house anymore (or when she does, it's a big ordeal). We got to talk about all sorts of different things, it seems like my grandpa is more talkative about his military days. He was part of D-Day in WWII, and it's not something he refers to very much. I'm sure it was a tough thing to live through so I can understand not wanting to remember it.

Saturday was a very lovely day. I'm very happy it worked out for all of us to go, especially that my brother was also able to go. So my moral of the story... visit your grandparents, they really appreciate it!

Here are a couple of pictures of my grandparents... these are from a couple of years ago.

Art Class

On Friday night my mom and I took another art class. I was looking back through my posts and realized I must have not written about when we took our first class... so let me start at the beginning.

Late last year my mom and I both decided to buy a Groupon for an art class at the South Broadway Art Project. We didn't really know what to expect, but my mom and I both enjoy doing artsy things. We signed up to take a class where we painted windows in Matisse inspired paintings. While I was not in love with the painting I ended up doing, it was such a relaxing night. It was so much fun to go to a place and just paint in a relaxing atmosphere where everyone was there to have fun.

My mom and I were going to take a second class and signed up for Drawing with Scissors, however it ended up being the week of Chad's surgery... so I ended up not going.

On Friday we did another art class - slab pottery - for my mom's birthday (I let her pick the class). We started out the evening by having dinner at Benton Park Cafe. I've been by this place like a million times and they always have a big crowd so I've been wanting to try it out. It was so so so so tasty!! Their menu isn't huge, but it has a ton of things to choose from, plus I enjoy when places serve breakfast menu all the time. I would totally recommend it. They are open for 24 hours on Friday and Saturday... might have to remember that for a late night dinner.

Then we headed over to the class. Like I said above we did slab pottery, serving trays, platters, etc. It was really relaxing playing with the clay. When I was in high school I took a ceramics class... it really reminded me of that. It was fun to just work with really fresh clay and get to do whatever you wanted to do. I wish I would have taken a picture of my piece, I'll have to remember to share my picture when I get the finished piece at the end of the month.

That's another good part about these classes is they do all of the set up and most of the clean up and have all the supplies and they give you help and guidance on what might help your piece look better. I'm hoping to do another class soon, maybe even for mother's day. Another good thing about their classes is you can bring your own food and drink (including alcohol). They have a kitchen and utensils you can use as well.

I would totally recommend the South Broadway Art Project to anyone. Their Canvas, Cocktails 'n More classes are awesome. If you're looking for a casual, relaxing night, this is totally a great place to go. While the classes I have been to a mostly women, there are men as well. I'd like Chad to go with me, but he's just not interested. If you have any questions - let me know, and if someone ever wants to go with me I'm there!

Yay for me!!

As you may remember, I have gone back to school. The first term I decided to stick with just one class. I was really nervous about what it would be like to be back at school. I graduated from Truman back in 2006 - so it's been about four and half years since I was in school, and undergrad wasn't the easiest for me...

Well, I'm happy to report that my first class/term has gone great. Not only did I do well on the assignments I didn't mind doing the work most times. It is very different from undergrad. I don't think I selected the right program back then. But that's not the only thing... I didn't really have any real life experience to relate school to. I really debate whether going directly to college after high school is the right decision. For my entire life college is what you do after high school... and I followed that trend. I don't think I really knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Anyway... now class makes sense to me... I am able to pull real life examples from my work. It's truly awesome. I was nervous at first since most of the other students in my class already had a degree in education... and most of them were teachers. But I was able to add to the discussion and relate their ideas to adult education.

Well, my grade came in today and I'm happy to report that I got an A!! I am so excited and thrilled with myself. I'm hoping to keep this trend up. I have a perfect 4.0 GPA right now. It's super exciting. I'm hoping to keep this trend through this entire masters program. That will certainly help my chances of getting what I'll now refer to as the 'dream job'.

My next term starts on Wednesday and I will try my hand at two classes. I will work hard at these two classes (educational psychology and instructional design). But if it is too much work to handle I will let myself drop back down to one class a term... but we'll see how it goes! It will be double the work, however I'm hoping I will be able to handle it. The only thing I see being a problem is now that it's summer time it seems like life gets busier b/c more people what to do things. It will just mean I will have to stay organized and remember what my priorities are.

But I got an A!! So happy about that!!

Eek!

I could squeel I'm so excited and happy... why you might ask?

Well, remember in my last post where I told you one of my oldest friends just got engaged? Here is a couple of pictures me and Liz on my wedding day. Ignore the fact we are holding our bouquets up so high in the one picture... someone didn't tell me that I would look so silly in all my pictures b/c of that...

I like said before, Liz and I have been friends since kindergarten, our friendship has had it's ups and downs, but in the end we are friends... she is ne of my closest friends. She's a great person. We are very different in a lot of ways (always have been) but we are very similar in a lot of ways too. She's been nothing but supportive of me... and we always have such a great time when we're together. I'm hoping now that she's graduating next month we'll be able to spend a lot more time together.

I am so excited that she's getting married. I'm not sure I've ever been more excited... (maybe if my brother ever gets married, or when my little sister does, or other family members) I thought Liz was not going to do the whole bridesmaid thing... and I had already set myself up for this fact... that I would just be there to help her celebrate her day (and I told her I was going to plan a bachelorette party... end of story!)

Well, last night, Liz asked me to be her matron of honor and I couldn't be more excited. I think the smile on my face when she asked was like a mile wide... I am so so so so happy to help her with everything wedding related (that she wants) and be there to support her on this journey. The more I think about my wedding the more I realize she should have been my maid of honor... but that's a topic I really haven't approached on this blog... and I'm not sure I will ever write about it...

Either way, I am thrilled to be a part of her day in this way... words cannot describe! Liz, I am so so so so excited and happy for you... eek!!

Packed Full Weekend

This past weekend I was quite busy. I don't normally have so much to do in one weekend, but for some reason last weekend was quite full... but in a completely good way. On Friday night we were suppose to have plans, but I was feeling kind of blah still so we ended up staying in on Friday. Probably a good call since they other plans more certainly would have involved alchohol... On Saturday day Carrie and I took a mini road trip to an antique shop in Livingston, IL called the Pink Elephant. We've been talking about making this trip for a few months now, and Saturday was the perfect day. What's interesting about this antique shop has some interesting things outside... including, go figure a Pink Elephant. There were some other fun stuff too like this carosal... that i'm positive came from the Burger King on Watson Road that we use to visit as a kid, I could be wrong, but the more I look at this picture the more I think it is...

Or the tall man and half elephant... he's holding an ice cream cone. BTW the site I linked above tell you more about some of these items.

Here's a Christmas looking stand

That ice cream hut serves ice cream during the on-season, which we missed by only 6 days... they start ice cream service on Friday in case you're interested.

Here's Carrie next to the UFO looking thing

And there were some crazy things inside. The actual antique shop is in an old school building. There were quite a few shops, not as many as the Tesson Ferry Antique Mall I've gone to, but it was still fun, and tons of things to look at. Here's a wedding dress we found for Carrie.

And this guy greeted you when you walked in the door. In the end I didn't find anything worth buying, but we had a great time on our mini road trip!

On Saturday night Chad and I met up with my friend Liz for her birthday. Liz and I have been friends since kindergarten. I can't believe how long ago that was... we have had our ups and downs, but she's one of my closest friends and she probably always will be. She is finally almost done with school AND she just got engaged!!! I am soo excited for her and so happy she's happy. I can't wait to help her with wedding planning (as long as she lets me). And plan her a kick ass bachelorette party.

On Sunday morning my friend Susan and I headed downtown to cheer our friend Carrie on in her first half-marathon. We thought we'd be able to cheer on at the finish line, but I guess races don't really allow that... I'll know better the next time! We should have found somewhere on the race route to cheer her on... but we were actually able to find her after the race, it was a zoo down there, so it was lucky we saw her. I noticed like 10 of my friends on FB were doing it and I didn't see any of them! I think it's really awesome people are able to complete these races, so major props to everyone who was able to complete it!!

After Carrie's race I went over to my mom's house to hang out for awhile. We really didn't do anything exciting, but it's always nice to see my mom. On Sunday when Chad got home we did quite a bit of running around - Petsmart, Target and Schnucks. It was fun to run around together. With Chad's new schedule it's hard to see him as much as I'd like to. Either way, it was a jam packed weekend, but in a totally good way!!

The Last 36 (or so) hours

Wednesday night is Survivor night in our house. It's a night of the week that I really look forward to, I love watching Survivor with Chad... it's seriously one of the best parts of the week. This week we decided to get fast food to eat while watching Survivor... and I picked Burger King. I'm not sure if you've seen the ads, but BK has revamped their chicken tenders and I was excited to give them a try. We brought home our food and began watching Survivor, and about 45 minutes into the episode I started feeling funny... my stomach was hurting, but it wasn't hurting in a way I recognize. I just figured it would go away... I mean, normally my stomach aches do. I stayed up watching TV with Chad for an hour or so after Survivor, but then the ache was too much and told him I was going to lay down in bed. I kinda drifted off to sleep at this point but was woken up when Chad came to bed.

I believe I fell back asleep after that, but around 11:45 I woke up again... my stomach was killing me. I tried to sit up and try different positions to eleviate the pain. But then something told me I needed to go to the bathroom. So I went in there and before I knew it I was throwing up. Sooo gross. That's when I realized for the first time ever I had been food poisoned.

I was hoping after the first vomit session I would have gotten it all out - but atlas I got up every hour to hour and a half to use the bathroom in one form or another. Here's the part in the story which I wish I could share the gross disgusting details of that night... but i really don't think anyone would want to read it... I would love to share it, mostly b/c I'm a share everything sort of gal, but I really don't think most people would want to hear... so just know that it was a disgusting disgusting night!

Around four in the morning I came to the conclusion I should probably not go to work the next day. I was kind of bummed b/c we were throwing my co-worker a surprise baby shower that day... but I knew I shouldn't be too far from a bathroom... you know just in case. I got better throughout the day, but I wasn't myself. I made myself eat something and was able to eat three of the four items on the BRAT system (rice, applesauce and toast) I also managed to keep it down.

By Thursday night I was mostly feeling better, my stomach wasn't hurting as bad, but it was still... sensitive. But I started to feel other issues, namely fever symptoms. I was starting to get the hot and cold flashes. I took my temperate and it was at 100. At that point I decided to take a shower and some Advil PM and get into bed for good that night. I really think it was the right decision b/c I woke up feeling pretty good.

I've eaten a few things today, but mostly don't have a desire. I'm trying to remember to drink lots of fluids so I don't get dehydrated. But honestly, it kinda sucks. I never get sick... and I really never get throw up sick. I like barely know how to handle myself when I am.

Hopefully I'll continue to feel better and more like myself... but I think it's going to be awhile before I trust eating at Burger King again...

Final Birthday Post.... for this year

It's over a week past my birthday so I think it's about time to wrap up my birthday celebrations. And don't worry, this is a happy post.

First up here's the cute stuffed animal Chad got me... he reminds me of a bath toy or something... but isn't he cute?
He also got me beautiful roses
My mom also got me some beautiful flowers...
Look at this beautiful flower!!
She also got me cupcakes and the were delicious... she got me a lemon, red velvet, cookies and cream and chocolate peanut butter. Of course I didn't remember to take a picture (I ate some of them too quickly!) However I will show the cute cupcakes I made for opening day. These are the ones that I left at home (aka the not as good looking ones) but I still think you're able to tell they are baseballs.
My mom also got me a some other gifts. Here is part of the gifts, two pairs of shoes. She also got me (surprise, surprise) a dress, but I didn't want to take awful pictures with my iphone so I'm hoping to get Chad to take pictures of it as well as my Old Navy dresses.
And last but not least here's the gift Chris, my mother-in-law got me. How cute is it? I've made the switch to it, and I'm digging it.
So despite the downer post, but my birthday ended up being pretty good.