I believe that it really has only been about 2 weeks, but it seems like a VERY long time. This has been a wild month! Here are a few of the things that occurred:
• Rear ended a co-worker early one morning while sliding happily along on black ice. Ironic thing is that the man I hit is the one and only teammate of mine located in MN. His car was a 2008
• Received a Blackberry phone, but because this is strictly business I am now a techy geek with 2 smart phones
• Spent way too many hours shopping for the first “Snow Daze” dress for Marissa. This is the official first high school dance for her – thankfully she is going with a group of friends
• Survived many commutes to and from new job, most now with a dented car (will be fixed in Feb).
• Gunnar has skied every Saturday this month.
• Co-worker and project mentor gave her notice on 1/9 – boy am I busy now!
• Joined sock clubs, received STR January shipment – WOW!
• Marissa went on a weekend retreat in northern Minnesota
• Gunnar made his first 911 call
• Pat rode in an ambulance, with us all thinking he was having a stroke or heart attack. We later learned it was an anxiety attack. We are still researching that.
• Worked on socks that are now referred to as Emergency Room Socks.
• Went shopping for furniture, thinking maybe time to replace Mocha devoured couch.
• Gunnar conferences
• Hardly enough knitting
• Gunnar chose between Percussion over French Horn for his instrument next year.
• Marissa has completed one semester of high school and most probably will be keeping her phone
• Pat is now official ‘car pool’ dad. Too bad car license plates are not transferable between family cars, but at least the kids can tell his van from all the other gold Honda’s due to the LADEB plates
• As of 1/29, Christmas décor still up at our house
• Today are a couple of meetings about the dreaded word “reorganization”. I think I should be fine.
• Now this may seem light to many of you seasoned pro’s, but all this is in addition to the ‘regular’ stuff and we haven’t had to combine regular & unusual with me working FT in over 10 years.
God is teaching me something – anyone have any ideas what?
29 January 2009
13 January 2009
12 January 2009
We should all work from home because...
- cuts fuel consumption
- minimizes road repair needs due to less usage
- shrinks cost of car maintenance
- comfort = productive
- productivity based truly on your work output, not hours spent in office (productive or not)
- won't miss work with sick kids
- significantly lowers employers office space needs & costs
- reduces utility costs for employers
- reduces or eliminates daycare fees (especially b4 & after school)
- eliminates commuting time - especially in bad weather (like 2-nites 2hour & 45minutes trip home)
- traffic jam accidents a thing of the past
- death toll due to road rage drastically reduced
- makes everyone happier due to increased family time & no road rage
11 January 2009
1 week down, life is busier...
Well, I have completed my first week of FT employment. I have to say it felt LONG. I now have some projects assigned to me, so things will be more exciting in the weeks to come. I also learned I have my first holiday on January 19 - woot, woot!
I think full family adjustment will be a few months, but Pat and the kids are really trying to pull their weight. Pat has taken over the carpool for Gunnar - only about 5 months left and then Gunnar will be a bussed kid for middle school. Marissa cooked dinner for us on Friday and is planning a few more. Gunnar is getting his piano practiced either before schoool or before I am home, that helps with less getting crammed in after dinner.
I am glad I pulled together all my tax stuff prior to starting, just waiting for my appointment. Now trying to pull stuff together for an attempt at refinancing our mortgage. This will also hopefully help us to pay off the debt we added during my unemployment - thankfully not much - but I HATE DEBT!!!
We also have to have both kids registered for school classes next year. Marissa has figured out her core classes, but is still pondering electives, with the exception of Foods II. Gunnar's electives are really up for negotiation, but he has to decide if he wants to play in band, orchestra or sing in a choir. I know the later is already crossed off his list with a BIG, DARK, BLACK mark.
Mocha will start some more obedience in February - she continues to be a class star and clown. In her last class, she and another dog were forbidden to be next to each other - they were too distracting for each other and the other students.
Finally, I am adjusting my knitting expectations. Since the total number of hours available to knit has significantly shrunk, I am hoping to finish a pair of socks and one other project during a month. I have my personal (stash based) sock club set up and a few other projects in mind.
I am getting my 'reading' done via books on CD during my commute - that is almost 2 hours a day! Also, some scrap booking is getting done - Marissa has taken over for her photo's and is having a blast with a group of friends that are also scrap booking.
One other goal: to update this blog at least 3 times a week - even if it is just a few words.
I think full family adjustment will be a few months, but Pat and the kids are really trying to pull their weight. Pat has taken over the carpool for Gunnar - only about 5 months left and then Gunnar will be a bussed kid for middle school. Marissa cooked dinner for us on Friday and is planning a few more. Gunnar is getting his piano practiced either before schoool or before I am home, that helps with less getting crammed in after dinner.
I am glad I pulled together all my tax stuff prior to starting, just waiting for my appointment. Now trying to pull stuff together for an attempt at refinancing our mortgage. This will also hopefully help us to pay off the debt we added during my unemployment - thankfully not much - but I HATE DEBT!!!
We also have to have both kids registered for school classes next year. Marissa has figured out her core classes, but is still pondering electives, with the exception of Foods II. Gunnar's electives are really up for negotiation, but he has to decide if he wants to play in band, orchestra or sing in a choir. I know the later is already crossed off his list with a BIG, DARK, BLACK mark.
Mocha will start some more obedience in February - she continues to be a class star and clown. In her last class, she and another dog were forbidden to be next to each other - they were too distracting for each other and the other students.
Finally, I am adjusting my knitting expectations. Since the total number of hours available to knit has significantly shrunk, I am hoping to finish a pair of socks and one other project during a month. I have my personal (stash based) sock club set up and a few other projects in mind.
I am getting my 'reading' done via books on CD during my commute - that is almost 2 hours a day! Also, some scrap booking is getting done - Marissa has taken over for her photo's and is having a blast with a group of friends that are also scrap booking.
One other goal: to update this blog at least 3 times a week - even if it is just a few words.
05 January 2009
New Job - Day 1
God is good.
No traffic, was actually 45 minutes early!
Laptop was ready, no access to anything, oh well.
Met more people than I can remember.
Got to go home early - COOL!
Very tired because I went straight to a frustrating school meeting and didn't get home until after 9pm. Good night.
No traffic, was actually 45 minutes early!
Laptop was ready, no access to anything, oh well.
Met more people than I can remember.
Got to go home early - COOL!
Very tired because I went straight to a frustrating school meeting and didn't get home until after 9pm. Good night.
04 January 2009
The Test
I feel that I am in the midst of a great learning opportunity from God and I am trying not to fail the test.
I have been unemployed since May. I felt led to work with family for the summer and to postpone my job search - I followed. Occasionally I doubted, but not often.
In September I started to look for a job. The process was slow at first, but with a bit of help, motivation and accountability from friends, opportunities started to present themselves. My severance ran out in October. No problem - still had unemployment. By December, though trying hard not to doubt, I was concerned about our finances. The day I accepted the SuperValu job offer, the unemployment finally paid out (including back weeks) - God again, Just-In-Time, HIS. (JIT God is a subject for another day.)
Tomorrow is the first day of my new job. I have not worked FT & 5 days/week since before Marissa was born. For the last 10 years I was at only 3 days a week. I am thankful for a job. I am thankful for a steady income and benefits. I am worried about the significant changes for my family and personal life. The commute scares me to death. I am disappointed that I was unable to find something more flexible and/or part-time. This is where the fear of failure comes in. I don't want my trust in God to wain now. He has been there for me and I just need to trust, but I am struggling.
Pray that I trust God, follow instead of trying to lead/control and rejoice that I am loved, cared for and He has only the best planned for me - whether I know it or not!
I have been unemployed since May. I felt led to work with family for the summer and to postpone my job search - I followed. Occasionally I doubted, but not often.
In September I started to look for a job. The process was slow at first, but with a bit of help, motivation and accountability from friends, opportunities started to present themselves. My severance ran out in October. No problem - still had unemployment. By December, though trying hard not to doubt, I was concerned about our finances. The day I accepted the SuperValu job offer, the unemployment finally paid out (including back weeks) - God again, Just-In-Time, HIS. (JIT God is a subject for another day.)
Tomorrow is the first day of my new job. I have not worked FT & 5 days/week since before Marissa was born. For the last 10 years I was at only 3 days a week. I am thankful for a job. I am thankful for a steady income and benefits. I am worried about the significant changes for my family and personal life. The commute scares me to death. I am disappointed that I was unable to find something more flexible and/or part-time. This is where the fear of failure comes in. I don't want my trust in God to wain now. He has been there for me and I just need to trust, but I am struggling.
Pray that I trust God, follow instead of trying to lead/control and rejoice that I am loved, cared for and He has only the best planned for me - whether I know it or not!
02 January 2009
My Personal Sock Club
I have started my own sock-of-the-month club. I bagged 12 sock yarns from my personal stash that I really wanted to knit. In the bag is a pattern I chose specifically for that yarn. I will randomly select a bag each month to knit up. Since I still have more sock yarn stashed, I may add additional bags. This should (in theory) save me money by not needing to buy anymore sock yarn. Here is what I bagged up. For January, I selected #12.
- Sweet Dreams Socks by Monica Nappe
- Django by Cookie A
- Komet by Stephanie van der Linden
- Trystero by Cookie A.
- Flutter-by socks by Shannon Robalino
- Marian by Monkey Toes
- Circle of Friendship Socks by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer
- Sleepwalker Socks by Monica Nappe
- Slip Stitch Code Monkey
- Zombie Socks by Sheryl Giles
- Bellatrix by Monkey Toes
- K3, P1 plain sock
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