2019 goals- check-in

Let's check in on my 2019 goals!

1. Eat at least one vegetarian dinner every week. 

Not doing well with this. I have less control as CP is the person to make all of our meals and we certainly eat less red meat than we did a few years ago, but we are not doing vegetarian meals as I had envisioned.

2. Lose 25 pounds this year. 

Ha ha. Dammit. Losing weight is not happening. I've got 6 months to make this happen.

3. Work out for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week. 

This has gone pretty well so far this year. Having to train for the races has kept me at least 

running three times a week but since the half marathon in early June. Starting to travel for 

work has screwed up my consistency but hopefully I can get back into it soon.

4. Continue monthly dates with CP.

We probably have gotten out once a month without the kids. 

5. Get our credit card balance to $0 this year.

Getting my vacation payout from my old job was amazing and it allowed us to pay off our 

credit card debt this month. Woo hoo!

6. Get a new job. 

Done! I love my new job!

7. Continue to be politically active whether it is writing postcards to voters, contacting my

elected officials about things that are important to me, or participating in marches.

8. Run in at least three races this year including the Soldier Field 10 miler.

Done! This spring I did a 10k, Soldier Field 10 miler, and a half marathon.

9. Run one race with Izzy this year.

Still need to find a race to do with Izzy.

Six more months to finish the rest of these!

Job update part 2

My quick trip out to DC last week was a fruitful one as I got to go out to dinner with friends the night before and then had a great interview with two managers and the company president. They were really impressed with my experience and a two hour interview ended up running over 30 minutes because we were having such a great time chatting.

Then on Friday, a day after the interview, I received a call that they wanted to offer me the position! I was a little disappointed in the salary as I told them what I currently make so I made them my offer and we talked again on Monday. On Monday HR let me know that they would not be raising the salary so I said that they would have to raise the vacation time and that I would have to think it over.

Then on Tuesday, almost the entire day I was anxious. I had a tremor in my right thumb all day, I wasn't hungry, and my body was tingling. I am FAR from an anxious person so all of these feelings were foreign. No wonder anxious people are so skinny! I ended up buying a can of vodka mule for the train ride home to calm my nerves which weirded CP out a bit. If I did it all the time, I totally get that response as not being a healthy one but this is not a normal feeling for me and I don't drink that often so I'm not worried about it becoming a problem.

The anxious feeling continued into Wednesday although it had subsided a bit. After all of my meetings I called HR and let them know that I would take the job if they increased my vacation time, which they agreed to! 

I start my new job on May 6!!!

Job search update

The week after I got back from Mexico I had an introductory interview at a new company. It was my first interview in a VERY LONG TIME-  I have been at my job for over 10 years. I thought that it went well, but I came out of the call thinking that I could have prepared a bit better. I thought that I was a shoe-in for the job, but I was unsure whether that came across in my answers. 

A week later I received a call from the other manager to set up a second interview since she was unable to make the first interview. We ended up spending an hour and a half on the phone and got along great. I knew that I had impressed the first manager in the beginning of this second call because she kept saying how impressed they were with my experience. WOO HOO! The following day the two managers were going to get together to discuss the interviews and they were hoping to determine next steps sometime this week. Knowing that I had to get a thank you letter out quickly, I emailed one that night to both ladies thanking them.

Last Monday I was at a training when one of the manager's phone numbers popped up. With butterflies in my stomach, I dialed back about an hour later but got her voicemail. Later that night we ended up talking and she let me know that they were VERY interested but that my salary request was higher than they had projected for the position. I was honest and told her my current salary. She responded that she would work on it and that she would be in touch. I didn't hear back for a few days but then got a call asking me to fly out to DC for an in-person interview with one of the managers and the president of the company. At this point I figure that they have to be at least close on my salary and that they did a calculation that my experience could be worth the extra money (or others hired that came in at lower salary ranges didn't have enough experience). Either way, flying me out is a really good sign!

So next week I will fly out to DC for an in-person interview. I really, really, really want this job and know that I would kick ass at it. Keep your fingers crossed next Thursday for me!!

2019 goals

Since it's almost March, it's probably time to write down my goals for the year. LOL.

1. Eat at least one vegetarian dinner every week. 
While we certainly have been eating less red meat with Weight Watchers, we are eating a lot of chicken. I would like to lessen my environmental impact this year.

2. Lose 25 pounds this year. 

I'm happy with the 25 that I lost last year and would like to lose 25 more to get down to my 

wedding weight.

3. Work out for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week. 

I have started strong so far this year, mostly with 21 Day Fix workouts. I am looking forward 

to Shaun T's new program when it comes out in March and when the weather gets nicer I 

will be spending time running outside.

4. Continue monthly dates with CP.

5. Get our credit card balance to $0 this year.

Recent news stories have me worried about whether we are going to owe taxes this year 

instead of getting a refund....that will certainly hinder our ability to meet this goal but I 

hate throwing money away each month.

6. Get a new job. 

I spent a lot of last year doing informational interviews and working on crafting a good 

resume. I have also spent a lot of time figuring out what exactly I would like to do and what

I have a passion for outside my current job. I have two paths that I am pursing and I would 

like to make 2019 my year to make the jump.

7. Continue to be politically active whether it is writing postcards to voters, contacting my

elected officials about things that are important to me, or participating in marches.

8. Run in at least three races this year including the Soldier Field 10 miler.

I have always wanted to do the Soldier Field 10 miler and I have some other friends on 

board to run this race with me. It's in May so I have some time to prepare.

9. Run one race with Izzy this year.

I need to find a 1 mile race to do with Izzy this year. I think that she would love it!

There we go! Now I have 10.5 months to get these done!

Furloughed

Monday I went back to work for the first time since December 21. The first two weeks of being a furloughed federal employee were not too bad. I had planned on taking off the week of Christmas anyway so that CP and I could get some house projects done while the kids were at school. We did some touch-up painting, hung some shelves, hung a coat rack, cleaned the house after the holidays, etc. 

The following week also was not too bad with New Years Eve falling during the work week. CP and the kids were home for two days so I kept busy with them.

However, once the holidays were over the stark reality of being furloughed-banned from working and not getting a paycheck- set in. I deep cleaned the house. I made Weight Watcher-friendly meals to freeze (but not too many because we didn’t want to spend too much on groceries). I worked out almost every day (21 Day Fix). I took the kids sledding a few times. I did a purge of the kid toys and clothes. I listened to 10 million podcasts and read a few books. I texted with my employees and friends, venting and commiserating with them. I kept checking in with the news to see if there were any talks between the two sides, but no, there seemed to be no sense of urgency to end what became the longest shutdown in government history.

It was near impossible to find a part time job that didn't require any training, didn't violate any ethics rules, and one that I could drop on a day's notice. I thought about doing Uber or Lyft but didn't want to take out the car seats every day just to put them back in again before morning dropoff. My parents offered me a job at their law office and so I spent two weeks working for them, helping to clean out their files. It was humbling to say the least. 

 

I know this sounds like a nice, relaxing way to spend 5 weeks off from work but I can assure you it was anything but. The uncertainty of when I would be back to work and the uncertainty of when I would next have a paycheck hitting my bank account was super stressful. Not to mention all of the big meetings and events I had planned that needed to be cancelled. Five weeks lost of time I could have been working, making a difference with my job. I was stressed for not only myself, but for fellow employees, contractors, the small businesses that rely on federal employees, and the people that we serve. 

And of course we have had terrible weather this week. Monday we had a two hour delay due to snow. Yesterday and today it was -50 outside with the wind chill so we had to close the office and work from home (except my kids were also home so it made doing work more challenging). Not to mention it's hard to get back up and running knowing that all of this could happen again on February 15th. *sigh*

Friday news dump

Ugh! There is simply no time for blogging these days. I also need to catch up on my Feedly reader. That being said, here is what is going on in our lives these days:

-Izzy did great on her first two weeks at her new school. Her good friend at her old school was scheduled to move to a new daycare that hasn't opened yet but I was able to convince her parents to move her kid into the new school instead. Izzy is super excited for her friend to start on Monday! 

-I was supposed to be on a work trip this week to Missouri but it got cancelled. It has now been rescheduled for the very end of November which is fine except I will miss Izzy's birthday. :-( My MIL came into town to help CP out while I was going to be gone, but instead it has just turned into a regular visit. 

My MIL took Izzy for her first manicure

We also all went to the Brookfield Zoo

90+ degrees + no nap= this face

We also went apple picking and Wes got attacked by mosquitoes.....again.

We offered to have her join us on our trip to Cancun next February and she agreed which means we will get at least one night for a dinner to ourselves AND maybe even get to go scuba diving together!

-CP and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage on October 3rd a little early this weekend since we have a built-in babysitter (MIL). I got tickets to see the musical Avenue Q and then we are going out to dinner. Should be nice to have a kid-free night on Saturday.

-Izzy has started up ice skating lessons and tennis lessons for the fall. Poor Wes is in nothing until we will put both kids in swimming for the winter (likely around November).

-No work changes on the horizon any time soon. I continue to try to speak to people and have an in-person informational interview next Thursday. The area that I want to move into doesn't have a ton of positions so I may not go anywhere any time soon. :-( But I am working on my resume with someone to make sure it is ready.

-I'm super excited that although I was wait listed for the Michelle Obama presale tickets, I was able to get tickets for her Chicago event in November! I also got a ticket for my sister and my mom and figured they could be Xmas presents. :-)

-Friends of ours started a Healthy Kids Running Series group in our town and last weekend was the first event (the series runs for 5 weeks). Izzy easily won her 4-5 year old division (they only ran 75 meters and she was taller than any of the other kids). I volunteered to help on the race course for the older kid races and was so sad to see a mother berating her child during the last race (1 mile). Her daughter was in third to last place and the mother (who may have been athletic at one time but was not now) was upset that she was walking (it was 85+ degrees out and sunny). She told her daughter "alright, if you aren't going to try then we are just going home right now. Let's go." The daughter picked up her pace and finished, but I was heartbroken for the kid. These races are supposed to be FUN. I debated saying something to the mother but in the end decided not to. I'm still questioning whether I should have. Thoughts?

-Speaking of running, Izzy has been wanting to do a real race with me so while we were in MI my mom and I took her out for a run. She kept wanted to actually RUN instead of jog and we did some walking, but she ran a mile in less than 14 minutes. We were planning on dropping her off at the house and continuing to run, but then she wanted to run more with us. She ended up running another .5 of a mile, then tripping and falling and walking back home with my mom. I'm pretty proud of that 1.5 miles for her though!

-I ran my first race of the year last Thursday. I went out too fast and ran a 10:15 first mile which is unheard of for me. I ended up running the whole race with an 11:15 average so I slowed down towards the end but for a race at the end of a workday when I also was battling a cold I was okay with the time. 

My favorite tshirt of the night. Paul Manafort joke anyone?

But then this past Wednesday I got home and had 30 minutes to myself while Izzy, CP, and Wes were at ice skating so I laced up my shoes for a run. I was feeling good, but when it started to pour right after the first .5 mile I decided that I was just going to try to run fast since I should probably get inside due to lighting. Needless to say I only got to run 1.5 miles but it was at a 10:30 pace so maybe I need to start pushing myself to go faster? My next (and maybe final race) of the year is at the end of the month.

-This week I got the fantastic news that a college friend of mine (who turned 40 earlier this year) is pregnant! She just turned 40 and I had some in depth conversations with her about IVF, the drugs, etc. so I'm so happy that it worked (her first retrieval didn't go well)! She is due in February and I'm tempted to give her a onesie that says "I love science." :-)

Randoms

• Neck surgery- I am not as self conscious about neck as I thought I would be, partially because I think that the doctor did a great job stitching me up. The swelling seems to be mostly gone, but I'm still having some odd gagging moments on food which I never had before. I am putting Mederma on it at least twice a day and trying to keep it out of the sun as much as possible.

In the car after getting the stitches out 6 days after surgery

My neck today 17 days after surgery (plus a heat wrap because I did something funny to my back/neck/shoulder this morning)

• I went for my first run since November last Wednesday, and then again on Friday and again on Sunday. So far feeling pretty good and taking it fairly easy by only running 2 miles or so. I walk every .5 miles and I'm staying just under 12 minute miles. I'm pleasantly surprised that I have that level of fitness for running since it has been 8 months, but losing 25 pounds and doing Beachbody workouts instead probably play a big part! I am using this calf stretcher every day and still using the night splint because I don't want the plantar fasciitis to come back. So far so good (fingers crossed).

Worth every penny

• This past week we moved Wes to a forward-facing seat that we call the "big boy seat." He LOVES the fact that he is now facing the same way as Izzy, I love that I have more room for my knees in CP's car as it was getting very tight with his backward-facing seat, and it will be easier to people to get to the third row of seats on both sides of the car. I would have loved to have kept him backward facing for longer, but it wasn't really safe for me being scrunched in the front if we were to have an accident.

Happy Wes in his big boy car seat

• Last weekend we took the kids to the butterfly exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Gardens and they loved it. Poor Izzy wanted a butterfly to land on her, but no dice again this year.

Huge South American yellow moth

Wes was amazed that a butterfly landed on CP's hat

•  Last week we have been keeping the cats entertained (or annoyed) by a fidget spinner. Cocoa in particular will hit it with his paws and/or his face to try to stop it. It's pretty funny

• 

  Marshmallow hasn't freaked out since this post so maybe she is feeling more comfortable these days?

  
  
  

• It was in the 90s and super hot this weekend so Saturday night before dinner we had a dance party to burn off some energy. The kids really enjoying bouncing to "Bouncing Around the Room."

• I'm getting frustrated with my job search. I have had three meetings with three different career coaches, the last one telling me that I should start to do a lot of informational interviews to see what I would be interested in doing since it will be a major career change after 10 years in my job. I have so far had three informational interviews with people from three very different industries and am looking to have more to try to expand my network. I have applied to three jobs, all of them were still open as of last week so who knows if I will get called in for an interview for any of them right now. I don't want to move just to move, but I am really ready to change jobs. Hopefully soon.....

Catching up

I feel like I have no time to blog anymore! This will have to be a short one, mostly with updates.

*I had to push back my neck surgery from June to July because my doctor doesn’t want me traveling for at least two weeks after the surgery. We are scheduled to go camping in Door County, WI for a week less than two weeks after the surgery, so now the surgery will be July 20. 

*CP decided to join Weight Watchers! I was surprised that he was interested but he lost about 15 pounds after he started running a few times a week last year and has since stayed steady. He was getting frustrated that he wasn’t losing any more so this week he joined. He hung out with a work friend on Tuesday night and was shocked to blow through most of his points for the week after three beers, a Reuben sandwich, and fries.  I suspect he will also have an awakening after he starts to seriously track his food intake.

*I was selected to be part of a prestigious leadership program that would have had a few weeks of travel over the next year. A few days before I was scheduled to go, my division’s participation was cancelled by higher ups (no reason given but my boss seems to think it was money-related). To say that I was frustrated would be an understatement. It underscored how unhappy I am at my current job and how, although I have said this before and obviously not followed through, I think that it is time to leave after 10 years here.

*Leaving is not super easy though because I want to leave my industry and move to a new one. So I reached out to friends and contacted two different career counselors to see how they can help and how much money it would cost. I don't just want to jump to any job but I would like to plan out my career a little more. Fingers crossed I can do that with one of these counselors and that it is within our budget.

*Speaking of lots of money, our new patio goes in next week while I am out of town for work. I'm excited to have not only a nice patio but new patio furniture as well! It's actually been warm enough recently where we could eat outside if we had a patio so hopefully we can do that soon.

*Getting older sucks. I have been having trouble with my contacts for a while- blurry vision, dry eyes by the end of the day, etc. so my doctor prescribed some eyelid wipes and a different contact solution. Neither worked so my next step is daily contacts which are more expensive.....and of course the only ones that my eyes will tolerate are the most expensive ones. I also updated my glasses as it has been about 10 years but I wore them all day today and like usual, my nose hurts from not being used to glasses. :-( I should seriously look into LASIK so that I don't have to deal with this anymore.

*My plantar fasciitis has not gone away despite wearing my oh-so-sexy night splint and orthodics every day. This week I made it worse by playing softball with colleagues- running to first base after a hit was painful! The day after was spent working from home, alternating icing my foot and stretching. My next step is to start physical therapy at the end of the month. I've got races to run later this year and I need to start running!

*CP and I were going to spend the weekend mulching but now it is supposed to be cold and rainy all weekend. Then on Mother’s Day I have to drive down to St Louis for a work meeting that starts Monday morning. Booooo. At least I will be out of the office for most of next week.

What is new with you?

Two announcements

I have been so busy that I haven't even had time to write about how the announcements of my two big pieces of news went over at work!

Announcement #1:
Three days after I received word that I was being offered the Supervisor position I went into my boss' office and awkwardly (is there any other way?) told him that I was pregnant. His first comment was "first off- congrats!" Then he laughed and said that it was a good thing I waited until after the position had been filled. I knew he was kidding about that but it is probably a good thing- both for me to get the position without having to worry if my pregnancy would effect my selection AND for my boss to not have to worry about any other candidates complaining that I got the position only because I am pregnant and they didn't want a potential lawsuit filled by me.

His next thought went to whether I would be back at work in time to do performance reviews for my employees- I KNEW that this was going to be one of the first things that popped into his mind! I should be back in time- especially now if I decide to follow the MFM's advice to deliver early. I then assured my boss that I would be coming back to work after the baby comes and that this was the last baby. Lol. One of his last comments was "Mr. X's (his boss) head is going to explode when he hears this news." (In that, he is going to be worried about my work getting done while I am gone.) I am in the process of hopefully being able to get an employee from another division that just did a rotation under me to maybe take some of my work on a part time basis, but we'll see what her supervisors think of that. My boss will have to take over my supervision duties during my maternity leave, but at least we wouldn't have to find someone else in our already-strained division to do my other work.

Announcement #2:
Last week was our division's staff meeting and my boss decided that it was time to announce my promotion. Most people congratulated me; the guy to my right who I'm pretty sure also applied for the position didn't say a word... but the funniest part of the meeting was later on when we were going around doing staff updates. This customer service person (who is not a great worker and files lots of unsubstantiated claims against management) didn't have an update but said instead "(Old boss), I have some grave concerns that I need to bring to your attention and will need to talk to you about it after the meeting."

I wanted to giggle because it was clearly about the fact that I was becoming her boss, but was able to hold it in. I mean really- right in front of your new boss? You couldn't wait 5 minutes to voice your concerns until after the meeting? Ha ha. My boss came over to my office after the meeting and laughingly said "welcome to management!" I joked that a lack of tact and telling it like it is were great traits for a customer service rep! She sure is going to make things interesting!*

At the same meeting I also announced to everyone that I was pregnant and due in August. One woman commented "wow what a great year for you!" and another one tried to butter me up by asking if I was sure I was having the baby this August because I didn't look pregnant (I like being pregnant but not for almost two years!!).

So now that the cat is out of the bag on both fronts I don't have to hide anything which is nice. But quickly I am learning that taking this new job is going to entail so much more work than I originally thought (which is why an interview would have been nice because I would have had an inkling of what they expected). I'm up for the challenge but boy am I going to be busy!!


*The funny thing is, we don't have a bad relationship. She just isn't a fan of change. Good thing I know her and was able to laugh about the comment later. Someone from the outside may not have been able to react that way.

Microblog Mondays: First Day

Today is my first day at my new position. I don't have much information on what I will actually be doing or how much things will change around here, but I think I am going to get a whole lot busier! At some point my boss and I will have to sit down to have that conversation about what I am taking over (more than just taking over supervision of 7 employees from him), but I think it will take a while to sort everything out.

I am less worried about the actual work than I am of being a good manager. The 7 employees that I now have to manage were all co-workers just last week and all of them except for one are older than me. How are my relationships with them going to change? I want to make sure that I am a good and effective manager but have no training to help me learn the ropes.

Here goes nothing!


Want to read more Microblog Mondays? Go here.

Microblog Mondays: Supervisor

Well, I was going to post about how potty training went this weekend, but will save that for tomorrow because this morning I received a tentative offer for the Supervisor position at work! YAY! I was getting worried because I hadn't heard anything, but should have known that HQ needed a few days to get everything together to make an offer. Once I pass the background check (which shouldn't be difficult considering I already work here) I will be good to go!

Not only will this be a nice raise for me, but today CP got word of his annual raise and bonus at work so this is a good day for the NSC household!


Looking to read more Microblog Mondays? Go here.

Still waiting

I have a couple of things that I am waiting on....

1. As you know, I was referred for an interview for the supervisor position a right before leaving for Hawaii. While I was on vacation I checked in with my boss a couple of times to find out when interviews were going to happen. My boss and his boss decided not to hold any interviews and submitted the person's name that will get the offer on Monday. If I get the job I am going to be super happy that I didn't have to deal with an interview but if I didn't get the job then I am going to be pissed that I didn't get the chance to argue that I will be the best person for the position in an interview. So now I just wait for either someone to contact me with a job offer or possibly some announcement that someone else got the job (I don't know if they contact the people that didn't get the job to let them know that someone else will be hired). My boss doesn't make the offer so I still have no idea where I stand. It's a very frustrating process and I'm getting rather impatient. Hopefully soon.

2. Meanwhile, because I have work friends on Facebook, I haven't made an announcement online about the pregnancy just yet. This isn't a big deal because even during Izzy's pregnancy I made the announcement but didn't talk about my pregnancy or post any pictures until Izzy was born. I plan on doing that again. However, not being out on FB yet just means that we have to be careful on which pictures we post from our trip because you can definitely see a baby bump in some of them!

3. Along with not telling anyone on Facebook, I'm not telling anyone at work just yet either. I don't know if people just aren't saying anything or if I am just doing a stellar job hiding the bump under cardigans. I figure that if I don't have any news by March 15th on the supervisor position (the date of my Level II ultrasound), I will let everyone know. Two more weeks of hiding the bump!

4. The Big Island is a four hour time difference from Chicago. Saturday night we left Hawaii and took a red-eye to Chicago, getting back around 5am. I slept for about 1.5 hours on the flight. Everyone went back down to sleep when we got home but we were all dragging for the rest of the day. That night I was sure that I was going to pass out but was up until almost 1am unable to get to sleep. Monday night I did pass out but last night I was up until midnight, unable to sleep again. I'm crossing my fingers that this jet lag or pregnancy insomnia doesn't last long because I am seriously dragging every day. I don't want to wait to long to feel normal again. 

Are you waiting on anything in your life right now?

Good and Bad

Good: Izzy is feeling much better after her tough Superbowl Sunday ear infection. She is back to normal.

Bad: CP has now come down a fever/sore throat combo which kept him out of work yesterday and had him come home halfway through the day on Monday. He is headed to the doctor today and hopefully he starts to feel better soon.

Good: Last year we set up a dependent care account through my work. The max we can put in is $5000 but we almost quadruple that amount in daycare expenses. I submitted the forms last week and we already got paid! That money allowed us to pay off our car loan on the Prius (we had already paid the car off before but took out another low interest loan through our credit union to pay for siding our house a few years ago). Now we are back to one car payment again. YAY!

Bad: This weekend as I was backing out of our driveway in the minivan I was veering away from the Prius but hit a small retaining wall, scratching up and slightly knocking the front bumper (on one side) out of whack. I was so pissed. The leftover amount of money from the dependent care claim will likely go towards fixing it. Ugh.

Good: We leave for Hawaii in two days! Izzy is very excited to wear her "swimming suit" and to not have to wear a coat or hat. Me too kiddo.

Bad: Nothing bad about a vacation!!

Good: On Monday Izzy's daycare had an in-service day and I had the day off so we had a mommy-daughter day where we went to the local children's museum. Izzy spent most of the time doing crafts that she was super proud of. In addition, we went to the fabric store where Izzy picked out the fabric that I will eventually make into curtains for her new room. I also got blackout material to sew onto curtains in our sunroom to make them heavier to hopefully trap more heat in the room.

Painting with colored ice

Gluing onto a mixed-media masterpiece

Bad: She didn't take a nap that day so she was a little nuts that night. Her napping has gotten better though and I don't think that she is ready to drop her nap just yet (thank goodness).

Good: Recently we signed Izzy up for Highlights the magazine (High Five- the toddler version). Not only does Izzy love getting something in the mail on a monthly basis ("it's mines?"), but she loves the content in the magazine as well! CP and I remember getting Highlights as a kid so we were happy to order it for her. For our big plane ride we got Izzy a book of hidden pictures so hopefully that keeps her busy for a while. (Not being paid to promote this but thought it was a good idea for other toddler parents.)

Bad: We have to read the same magazine every single night. :-/

Good: I have now been outed to my neighbors as being pregnant and everyone is excited. We had a wine party on Saturday night and early on one of the wives noticed that I wasn't drinking. She quietly asked, I said yes, then she announced to everyone the big news (I didn't want to do a big announcement so I was more than happy for her to do it).

Bad: I had let one of the other IVF neighbors know the week before that I was pregnant (she is done having kids) and she was super excited, but didn't get to talk to the other one (tried to have a second kid through IVF and it never worked- now is divorced). I didn't get a chance to speak to her that night so I hope that she is okay.

Good: My job application went in last week and I was selected as one of the best qualified candidates so my boss received my application package (we have a weird way of doing things around here). Yay! Hopefully I will get scheduled for an interview soon.

Bad: My boss literally just came to my door and said that they have to make a decision on the position by February 29th- the day that I get back into the office from vacation. So it looks like I might either have to interview tomorrow or while I am on vacation. Not ideal but if it has to be done, it has to be done. Guess I won't have to out myself as pregnant before the selection is made!

Snippets

*Today I am feeling a bit sense of relief. Remember that potential promotion at work? I finally updated my resume (mental note- don't wait years to do that again!) and submitted my application yesterday. Now I just wait and hope to get an interview!

*How was your Superbowl Sunday? Ours ended up being pretty relaxed because Izzy was sick. She woke up Saturday morning with a fever so she didn't end up going to soccer. She ran some errands with CP but he realized that she wasn't feeling great when at the grocery store he had to make a quick exit because she fell asleep on his shoulder (never happens). We would give her Tylenol which would bring her fever down, but it would flare up again once the medicine wore off which would make her very clingy and snuggly. CP stayed home with her on Monday because I had a big day at work and took her into the doctor- ear infection. I should have thought about that but always forget about ear infections because she doesn't complain about her ears hurting or pull on them. I ended up staying home with her on Tuesday because she still had a fever on Monday night but she was basically back to normal after starting antibiotics on Monday morning.

Poor sick Izzy on Superbowl Sunday

Izzy feeling better when the Tylenol would kick in

*Were you happy about the Broncos winning on Sunday? I was rooting for the Panthers because I am a fan of Cam Newton and wanted a new team to win....oh well. Hopefully my Eagles will be in the Superbowl next year (ha ha).

*Not super excited about the news that there is a dengue fever outbreak on Hawaii's big island since we are  heading there in 8 days, but so far no Zika so that's good. I'm just going to be careful and wear repellent. Otherwise, I am looking forward to our vacation!

*What are people doing for Valentine's Day? Anything? Usually CP makes me a fancy dinner but with us leaving for Hawaii in about a week maybe we will just wait to have a fancy dinner by ourselves in Hawaii! My MIL can hang out with Izzy that night. :-)

*So far I think that I have done a good job of hiding my belly at work but when my parents were over this weekend my Dad looked at my belly and said "You aren't going to be hiding that from people for long." To be fair, we had just eaten dinner so my belly was full of food AND I was wearing a maternity shirt so it hugged the belly a bit more than the shirts I am wearing at work. But, he's probably right. I think that I'm looking more like my 17 week picture with Izzy and I'm only 15 weeks.

Job hunt

Two days later I think that I am finally out of my funk.  I’m not sure if it was the whole Mother’s Day stuff, PMS, a combination of the two, or something completely different.  I just felt CRANKY and OFF the past two days (poor CP).

But today is a new day and although I am a bit sleepy, my mood is finally better.

For one, I received word that I won an award at work for an event that I put together and participated in.  It was so unique that I was given a cash award.  Woo hoo!  Of course it won’t be much once taxes get taken out, but hey, it’s something for my resume and I’m not going to turn down a few extra dollars.

Those few extra dollars might go towards polishing up my resume though.  Last week I applied to three jobs in Chicago and joined TheLadders dot com for a free 14 day trial.  A resume critique came with the trial and the reviewer basically told me that my resume is outdated and I’m not showcasing my talents.  I can totally see that because it is the same resume format that I have been using since college.  I’m sure things have changed quite drastically since then.  So for only $495 (ha!) someone will retool my resume.  I know that it is a lot of money, but I’m kind of tempted (has anyone used TheLadders?) as I already have my first “we have gone with another candidate” rejection.

Last night I told CP that even if he doesn’t get the job in Chicago that I am going to start looking for a new job here in CT.  I know that I say this every few months and there are valid reasons as to why I shouldn’t leave my job (my accumulated vacation time and sick time if I get pregnant for one)…..but I am not pregnant.  And there is no end in sight to my infertile ways so why not get a job where I feel useful and happy?  Even with taking on the work of my retired coworker I am still bored.  CP says that when he sees it, he will believe it.

After almost four years of being unhappy at work, it’s finally time to change that.  Hopefully with a move to Chicago and a new job!!  


*UPDATE*  I just got an email from my boss saying that as long as Corporate HQ approves the transfer to the Chicago office, the Chicago office would love to have me.  I know that things wouldn't change as far as hating my job, but if HQ does approve this then I wouldn't have to scramble around trying to find a job in the next few months and instead could take my time.

Non sequitur thoughts

Why does Buster feel the need to lay down in the bathroom every time I need to pee? He always cocks his head trying to figure out where the sound is coming from which is hilarious….but still. Why does he feel the need? Is it because I watch him pee every day? At least he gets praised while doing that- I just get a weird look!

CP and I realized that for the next few months while my uterus is healing we are going to actually have to prevent pregnancy. An odd concept after trying for a year and half with no results. But if what the doctor said is true (that CP’s sperm is okay and the endometriosis was the reason we couldn’t get pregnant), then we will have to be careful. Now I just have to wait and see if my periods are going to go back to normal cycles. *crossing fingers*

So I finally decided to check out Pinterest after hearing so much about it from you guys. I love the idea, but why do you have to request to get an invite? That is kind of annoying.

I think that this extra workload is going to be around for a while. The coworker who was put on a special assignment wrote on another coworker’s Facebook wall that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Since she is older, I don’t think that she is very tech savvy….so I’m not sure that she knows that I could see her post. My company won’t be hiring anyone to fill her position so although I hate my job, at least I’ll stay busy.

Would you get falsies for your dog? We will be fixing Buster after he turns a year old (waiting that long is better for his joints since he is a bigger breed) and CP wants to get false balls put in. I think that the idea is absolutely ridiculous, but CP claims that Buster needs them. Someone mentioned that Kim Kardashian had falsies put in for her dog and I keep asking CP if he really wants to be like Kim Kardashian…..but that doesn’t seem to sway him. Thoughts?

I'm not happy that I am working today, but at least I don't work in retail and have to deal with crazy shoppers. What happened to spending time with your family on a holiday? I feel bad for all of the hourly workers that have to deal with people that PEPPER SPRAY others just for a discount. Unfortunately I think that stores are helping create chaos by holding these intense sales for only one day and at weird hours when people are tired/drunk. Why not buy more of the in-demand products and spread out the discounts throughout a weekend or a week? Even if the stores don't make the discounts as steep they could get more people through the door, produce less craziness, and get more product moved. Do you shop on Black Friday?

Comment so that I can be entertained during my very boring work day today!

Changes at work

Last week my offices moved. It wasn’t a big move….just a few floors down in our building. The move means that although we have fewer open cubicles and are crammed together a bit more, I actually end up with more privacy in my new cube. WIN. Not to mention I am farther away from my boss so she can’t yell at me from her office anymore/ I can pretend that I don’t hear her. DOUBLE WIN.

Speaking of my boss, late Friday afternoon she came over to talk to me and gave me some surprising news. The woman that has my same position but has been with the company a lot longer (and thus makes more money) has been reassigned to a different office in a new state. I will miss her company, but her departure in about a month means more work for me! While I still won’t love my job and will try to leave as soon as my surgeries are over, I will at least be busier and have more bullets for my resume. Yep, trying to stay positive.

In other news, my closest friend at work has decided to transfer to another office down south. Although it will be great for her (especially personally because her problems have grown since this post), I will miss complaining about work with her and laughing with her. Her departure means that I will lose my close confidant at work- which means CP will most likely hear more of my b*tching (poor guy).

Monday bullets

*My interview on Friday was going well…..until they informed me that it was only a part time job. Hmmm. I didn’t see that anywhere on the job details and all of my job searches had been for full time employment. I found this out about 10 minutes into the interview and we hung up shortly after that because there was no use in continuing the conversation. Oh well.

*Friday night I went to see OAR with a friend. It was my first time seeing them and it ended up being a really fun concert.

*Saturday CP went over to a friend’s house at 7am to help smoke pork and drink Bloody Mary’s (crazy men and their meat). Meanwhile I went to a yoga class, took the dogs for a long walk and cleaned the house. That night we headed over to the same friend’s house for the delicious pork dinner and drinks. We never mean to stay late/drink a lot at their house but it always seems to happen…..

*Sunday we didn’t have anything planned for the day because it poured rain all day, but we ended up being very productive. We went to the mall to get outfits for my father-in-law's upcoming wedding. I bought the dress below which isn’t usually something that I would wear but I thought that it would be a great dress for a HOT HOT HOT wedding in Palm Springs and hopefully the wedding in Denver the following weekend (meaning I only have to pack one dress for both weddings).

What color shoes do you think would work with this dress? (NOT purple)

*CP and I also got busy cooking and baking. CP put a beef roast (our last roast from our beef CSA last year) on the rotisserie in his grill with some salt and pepper and later made a chimichurri sauce- delicious. We also used cherry tomatoes and basil from our garden, pairing it with fresh mozzarella for an amazing salad. Meanwhile I made two loaves of banana bread, two loaves of sandwich bread and chicken salad using herbs from our garden so that we would have lunch for this week. Whew!

What did you do this weekend?

Interview

In a few hours I have an interview with a nonprofit that I would absolutely LOVE to work for. It’s kind of funny that I even got the interview. The job notice was posted in mid June; I didn’t see it and apply for it until mid July. The posting had already been removed from their website, so I sent in my resume and cover letter to the Executive Director. I didn’t hear back from them so I figured that they had already filled the position.

On Monday I received an email from the nonprofit asking me if I would be available for a brief phone interview this week. This was the ONE cover letter and resume I sent out before I got the news of my fibroid surgery so it’s pretty amazing that I got a call back. So send good thoughts at 2pm today!!

The only potential problem with this job? I don’t think that it is going to pay enough. I am going to reserve judgment until I hear straight from the nonprofit, but if the salary is not close to what I am being paid now I won’t be able to take the job even if sounded like the best job in the entire world. Between our mortgage payment, the braces, two upcoming surgeries and out of pocket costs for IUI(s) next year, I need to maintain my salary level. Also, our renters out west are moving out at the end of September so we are currently trying to figure out whether to sell the place or rent it out again. Either way there is probably going to be at least a month where we will have to float two mortgages.

So yeah, while I am excited about the phone interview, I am trying not to get too excited because if I to make it through to the next round, my bet is that I won’t be able to take the job if offered it. *sigh*