Last Day of "Work"

I know that being a stay-at-home mom is a lot of work, so it's not like I'll be getting to relax and be lazy from now on, but today was my last day of work outside the home.

I've been training my replacement for about 2 1/2 months. I know she's really nervous because there's tons to learn and even though I've done my best to teach her everything, it's still going to be rough.

My boss bought lunch for all his assistants and his wife even came up to eat with us. I've technically only met her twice, but I've talked to her on the phone a bunch and I thought it was so nice of her to come to wish me good luck with the baby.

At the end of the day, I packed up my stuff, and my boss gave me a card and a hug and I left. It was a weird feeling, knowing I wasn't going to be going back. I was happy but a little.... I don't know. Sad? Disappointed? Scared? I don't know.

When I got home I read the card from my boss. He thanked me for all my years helping him and said how much he appreciated me. It was really nice. I cried a little. It's weird to think I won't ever be going back there. As much as it frustrated me sometimes, I was really good at my job. I knew how to do everything backwards and forwards. I guess it's a little intimidating to start this new "job" because I have no idea what I'm doing.

(Side note: On Wednesday (3/14/12) I went in for my appointment and the doctor walked into the room and said, "You haven't had the baby yet?" Really encouraging. I was 3 cm and 75% effaced. So the doctor had me make an appointment for next Wednesday but he doesn't think I'll make it until then. Cross your fingers.)

Seattle!

Brian just spent the past two days in Seattle. A firm up there asked him to come in for an interview. While he was there he also stopped by a couple other firms to drop off his resume. And then he spent the rest of the time wandering around downtown Seattle taking pictures and enjoying the city.

He said he felt like the interview went well. But he was their first one so they said they'll let us know by the end of the month. Which is still a whole month away. But we're still excited that he got an interview. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Day to Day

Well, after all the excitement of graduation, we have now settled into a routine.

Mine hasn't changed much. I got to work, every day. Whoopdy-do.

Brian works almost every day on his portfolio (almost finished!) and when he's not working on that, he works at the bike shop (or goes on bike rides, since he's been so deprived in the last four years.)

I have started looking online for Architecture jobs and I'm getting really antsy about finding out where we're going.

Brian is feeling less excited about moving because he realizes he's leaving all his biking friends.

He's also afraid we'll move somewhere without any of these to ride on:

I have also started thinking about a business idea that I could do from home. I don't think I'd make much money, and it wouldn't happen until we move probably, but I'm still mulling it around in my head.

Next week we're going to Arizona for Brian's cousin's wedding. I'm excited for the break and for the warmth.

I'm almost finished with this:

So I ordered this, to hopefully help fill the 22 hours of driving we'll be doing:

But I guess I waited too long to order it. Because it's sitting in the UPS Regional Processing Facility, in WEST VALLY CITY.

Do you think if I just wandered in, they'd let me just pick it up? I need it by Sunday.

Brian wants another one of these:

(Disclaimer: This is not the actual bike he wants. I have no idea what it really looks like.)

I told him he has to sell one of his other two bikes first. He thinks this is unfair.

(Not really, he understands my logic, he just doesn't really like it all that much.)

We got our extension request approved by housing. (Good thing, otherwise we'd be moving in 2 weeks.)

Our official move out date is on or before September 15th.

At least that's some kind of plan. :)

It does make it a little more real, which is weird, but happy at the same time.

And so that's our life for now. Exciting, huh?

5 Years Hard at Work

Today marked 5 years that I've been at my current job. That's not counting the two years I worked for the same guy while I was in high school. I thought about just letting it pass, but I happened to mention it to my boss before lunch. After I got back he had this note and a little cash for me.

I think I appreciated the note more than the money. I know this seems like bragging, but I really need to remember that he appreciates me and acknowledges how much I do for him. Hopefully that helps me get through those tough days.

Crazy Friday

So today has been one of those days where you don't realize you haven't eaten lunch, or that the day is practically over, until 3:30 when your boss leaves and says, "See you on Monday." So I am just now sitting down to eat some chips because I missed lunch and I can't eat my whole lunch or I won't be hungry for dinner in 2 hours. But thankfully I only have an hour left and then I get to go home and enjoy the weekend.

My sister & her husband are coming up from St. George tonight and we're going to the Draper Temple Open House with them and my brother, Phil. Then after we'll probably do family time to celebrate her husband's birthday yesterday and my brother Brad's birthday today.

(This week is always crazy with birthdays. 17th - Brian's brother, 18th - Brian's dad, 19th - My brother-in-law, 20th - My brother. We've determined we should have eventually have a baby on the 16th or the 21st, just to make it a whole week of birthdays.)

So yeah. I'm excited to spend time with my family. Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Hope for security

25 Jobs that Pay $25-an-Hour

I found this story while surfing MSN and it made me more hopeful about our future.

#4: Because that's what I want to do one day.

#20: Because that's the field Brian is in.

#24: Because that's what my current boss does and as long as he keeps his job, I can keep mine. :)

Catch-up

Life flies by when you're not paying attention. Here's a quick recap of our lives lately:

The funeral went well. I emailed my Grandma a copy of the poem I wrote and the story behind it & she ended up reading it as part of her talk. That was very cool. Everyone said they liked it.

Work is going well. My schedule is crazy so I always worry that my boss will get tired of it and hire someone else to "help" and they'll end up taking over my job. But last week he called me into his office to let me know that I'm doing a great job and he really appreciates me. He even mentioned that besides the yearly raise I'm due in May, I'll probably get another one in November once I'm graduated and working full time again. He said I'm keeping up on things really well and learning everything I need to, and we're staying ahead of most things considering neither of us are there full time right now. It's times like that that make me so happy and make it so much easier to go to work each day. And keeps me inspired to want to finish school so I can be done and work full time.

School is going well still. I've done pretty well on the papers and tests in my English classes and just OK in Spanish. I probably could do better in Spanish, I just don't have the energy. I hate that I have to take the class for my BA but owell. Not my choice.

Brian's still doing well. He got an A-/B+ on his last project. Now they're working on a new project that they're actually going to build downtown. It's not quite a building, more of a sculpture like the ones they put up for the Olympics. But it'll be cool to see it.

This last weekend we had our Stake Conference and we had a new stake presidency put in. Because of that Elder Nelson & his wife were there, along with Elder Murdock of the Seventy. It was a really neat experience to listen to him talk. I like hearing them in less formal settings than conference because they are a little less rigid. He's a very funny guy. I think our new presidency will be great.

We had our monthly dinner with my family on Sunday as well. It's great to get together with them and just chat. Dani and Brad are getting so old! Which means I'm am too, but I'm in denial. Also, Brad is getting so awesome at the piano. I love to listen to him play. He's got a better ear than I do, so once he hears something he'll be able to look at the music and play it a lot better and then memorize it faster. I on the other hand can sit down and sight read almost anything, but I can't memorize to save my life. I sat down to play a piece I'd kind of heard him play earlier in the evening and when I missed a note (my first time through mind you) he came over and said he could help me because he knew the song. Like he was the older sibling! :) He's great.

Yesterday we did find out some troubling news though. Brian's dad called us in the morning to say his brother was in the hospital. He was having surgery to have his appendix removed. It was a quick surgery so he was sent home that afternoon, so we went to visit him that night. He has two holes in his belly, and one through his belly button. But he seemed to be doing well. Apparently it's a genetic thing because Brian's dad & uncles & basically all males in the family eventually have to have it removed. I'm so excited for that moment.

I think that's all we've been up to lately. Just staying really busy and trying not to starve because we haven't been shopping for almost three weeks, and I don't know how we've managed not to go out to eat more often. All the family dinners help, but still. I call it a mini-blessing because He knows I just can't handle the stress right now.

Two Years

This morning when I got to work, I realized that today marks two years since I started working here. This also reminds me of a whole lot of other "two years since..." moments, but I don't want to go into those. The time has just flown by and I can't believe I'm where I'm at in such a short amount of time. It's amazing.

This job definitely isn't my career choice, but it pays well and my boss is flexible with my schedule. It's been tough doing work and school, because I feel like I'm overwhelmed in both areas, but I only have to make it through one more year. I can do this.

This week is Fall Break for us. Brian's gone mountain biking twice already, and played basketball with a friend. Yesterday we spent most of the day packing up stuff we won't need in our new apartment and moving it to his parent's house. I toughened up and threw out so much it almost made me cry. Well, not really, because I made myself not think about it, but it was hard. I went through pictures from Jr. high and old cards and letters I'd saved for years and just threw out a bunch of things. I really consolidated a lot. So most of my boxes are filled with journals and yearbooks, etc.

We also organized our presents a little better so we're hoping they all fit into one space so it's not all over my grandparents house when they get back. I can't believe they get back so soon. Another amount of time that just flew by.

Well, how do you think I should celebrate the fact that I've been at this job for two years, and that my boss isn't here today? I think I'll go home early. :)