Hello February!

Look at that, 2 weeks passed since I last posted something here. Sorry about that! Work takes so much time out of the day and by the time I get home and we get dinner cooked and cleaned up, I'm beat. This winter thing isn't helping. I have so much more energy to do things after work when it's warmer and lighter outside. I can't wait to be able to go for walks again after dinner. And to not have to wear 4 layers of clothes and 2 pairs of socks everyday. (I really do wear all that, I'm always cold!)

So how has work been going? It has picked up. I've been given a ton of work to do. I picked up things pretty quickly, so everyone is coming to me for help. An interesting thing happened this week, they fired the other assistant. She started a month before me. I didn't care for her, she was always late, leaving early, taking long lunches, disappearing during the day, etc. Well, they noticed. They warned her several times. She's gone. They don't put up with that crap. Which is nice. I put in my hours, I am always busy, people like her annoy me to no end. So, I have even more work to do now, but that's ok. The days go by quickly. There's another girl who assists with all the digital media, I assist with all the television media. (We have 3 TV stations, so there's a lot to do!) So we're quickly becoming a good team. I like her a lot. She's young, but she has a strong work ethic. Unlike the other one!

In some awesome news, we did our taxes yesterday. I was so sure we were going to owe $3k in taxes this year. I didn't get any money taken out for unemployment, so I was worried. Turns out, I had enough taken out the first 6 months of the year not to really have it matter. Plus with the house taxes, etc. and Alex in college, we actually ended up getting a teeny bit back. That was a huge relief.

So with that, I leave you with this 'throw-back' from Dec. 27, 2007. When Alex and I went to the Giants/Patriots game at the Meadowlands. The year that Pats went 18-0. This was from the 18th game. We won't discuss what else happened that season, we'll just leave it a that. And say "Go Pats!"

Two Weeks Down!

I survived my 2nd week back in the work force. And aside from the frigid temps and crappy drives into work practically every day, things have been going well. I'm adjusting well, I'm learning lots of new things, plus I'm starting to sneak a little bit of graphics work into my daily work flow. 

This is my new cubicle. I haven't really decorated at all. I brought in a Maine calendar (thanks Mom!) and my Krispy Kreme donut mug. And a little picture of Alex. And that's about it so far. I'm sure it will have a more personal look soon enough. For now, it's clean and I can still find things. So that's a good thing.

If I turn around in my chair, this is my view. The sky is actually blue when I took this! Earlier that day, there was a white out. And those windows tend to howl when the wind is blowing. And there's a bit of a breeze. Which might be nice in the summer, but it's a little on the cold side now. 

Eric is working this weekend and next for the Travel Auction. I'm happy I don't have to work. I guess there are some perks to getting laid off from WCNY! Oh, and I went to the 'holiday' party this past week. It was nice to see about 98% of the people there. I received a warm welcome and I got tons of hugs, several were so tight I couldn't breathe. It's safe to say that I am missed. Which makes me feel good. And I am very glad that I went to the party.

Alex returned yesterday from Albany. He (and the car) safely made the trip back and forth. And I managed to not have a heart attack. He's heading back tomorrow on the train for the 2nd semester. He's looking forward to getting back and returning to his regular schedule. His foot is still bothering him, so he has a doctor's appointment on Monday for an x-ray. If they find anything, he might red-shirt his freshman year track season, which wouldn't be a bad thing. It just means he'd have an extra year of eligibility that he could use if he goes to graduate school. We're hoping there's nothing wrong though, but if there is, he can rest, get better and then continue with his college running career when he's better. 

So that's about it from here. I'll try to be better with updating the blog. That work thing sure takes up a lot of time though! Plus I'm trying to keep the Cooking blog updated too. I had a lot going on this week, so that didn't get as much action as I was hoping for either. I've got a lot of recipes I'm going to work on this weekend so I can have some new posts this week.

The Weekend

After my first week back to work in 6 months, the weekend was a nice relief. Not that my first week was terribly stressful or over-worked. It's just that I haven't done the 9 hour work day, 5 days a week for quite awhile! And truthfully, I haven't done it in years. I've usually had an 8.5 hour work day... which I would prefer. I don't need an hour lunch and I hate that I have to take one. I'd rather only have 30 minutes for lunch and leave 30 minutes earlier. That last half hour of work, nobody works. Everybody spends their time chatting, packing up and waiting to leave. It's really pointless. But I'm not in charge, so I do as I'm told.

I'm interested to see how my 2nd week goes. My first week was pretty well-defined. I had a pre-made schedule and training appointments all week. And meetings with my boss. Now my new boss is gone, and I'm not sure I will have a set schedule, so I wonder how things will go.

This coming weekend (15th-17th) is Travel Auction. Can I tell you how happy I am that I don't have to deal with that?! Unfortunately, Eric still does. And he's not sure what his schedule will be yet. But I imagine I'll have some quiet 'alone' time next weekend. Although, Alex will be back for a couple of days. He's leaving today. He's driving himself to Albany. He has to report back for practice tomorrow. But classes don't start until the 21st. So he'll come back next weekend, leave his car and take the train back. This saves me a round-trip to Albany. And it allows him the freedom of grocery shopping and eating out, since the dining hall will not be open yet. (They get a $30/day stipend from the coach, so at least it's 'free' food!) I think he'll be eating well. And it will be nice for him to have the freedom to leave campus. I told him to go to Walmart and stock up on food/water for the semester. I imagine that he will. That's been his biggest issue is not having access to bottled water. He drinks a LOT of water. I got him a filtered water pitcher for his fridge, but that's just not the same.

Oh! And on Tuesday of this week Eric and I are attending the WCNY "Holiday" party. (Yes, I know, it's January 13th.) They decided to cheap out (I mean be smart about money for a change) and have it after Christmas, on a Tuesday. And I'm actually going. I wasn't going to go. But I figured, why shouldn't I go? I didn't do anything wrong. And if anyone (the GM?) is uncomfortable about seeing me, that's not my problem. I have lots of friends still at WCNY, and I'm excited to get to see them again. It will be interesting though, I'm sure.

Hump Day

It sure didn't take long to get back into the swing of things with working. I made it through Wednesday. 2 days until the weekend! I really miss being home, but it's nice to be doing something again. I've met some nice people. I had a really nice new boss... but he gave his notice on my first day. So he's leaving. (I'm trying not to take it personally!)

So here's my obligatory "my commute sucked" photo. It was 6 degrees and snowing on the way home today. The roads were terrible. 81 was a parking lot. It took an hour to go 12 miles. But my new snow tires were awesome!! 

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone's new year is off to a good start. So far so good here. I start the new job on Monday at Channel 3. I'm trying to be positive about it. It could have been worse, I could be working at the mall or in a restaurant. At least I'll be doing a little bit of what I'm trained to do. And I'll be learning some new things as well.

I did hear from the Housing place. They called me on Friday. I thought it was nice how they gave me my rejection over the phone and not some generic email. I came in 2nd place. She was genuinely nice about everything, said she really was impressed with me and all I had to offer, but in the end, they went with the other person, who had more experience with PR. It made sense to me, so I'm really ok with it. That part of the job sort of made me nervous anyway. I still have a shot at the F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse position. I should hear from them this coming week. I had a really good interview (at least I thought so!) with them. I was interviewed by a panel which included a board member from the Foundation I've been volunteering for. So that was kind of a plus for me! I felt really good after the interview, so at least there's that. If I don't get this job, it would be for the same reason I didn't get the Housing job. I just don't have a lot of experience in grant writing and PR work. But I do have a lot more to offer than most people who tend to have that kind of experience. And I tend to think grant writing is something you can pick up pretty easily, whereas design is not. So why not take a chance with me? Right?!

Not much else going on here. We're all in for the night thankfully, it's pretty icy out. We've been searching for our next 'vacation' spot today. I always get the urge for a warm vacation when it's so crappy out. We'll probably go to the Cape again the week of Labor Day, so we've been looking at houses to rent. We may just end up with the same place as last time, but it's always fun to look! And since I most likely won't have another day for 6 months (ugh), I'll need something to look forward to!

End of the Year

So I, for one, will be very happy to see the end of 2014. I feel like there will be a whole new beginning for 2015 for me. For more than half of 2014, I was unemployed. Which sometimes, was nice. But most of the time it was stressful, depressing and not a whole lot of fun. I'm ready for a fresh start.

Last week I received an email from one of the owners of the small design company that I worked at that one day and hated... Well, she wanted to me come in for an additional day. My first thought was "No way!" But then I figured, what the heck. I'm not doing anything, they would pay me, and maybe it won't be as bad on the second day. Well, I was wrong. It was equally as horrible. Probably even more so, because they wanted me for the whole day, instead of just 5 hours. 8 hours is a very long time when you're somewhere you don't want to be! The woman is just nasty. I honestly think she has a dual personality. She's nice when you're chatting about life and family, but once the work face comes on, look out! There is just no way I would work for anyone like that. But I'm glad I gave it another try. Just to make 100% certain that my first impression was correct. I almost look forward to her offering me a job next week and getting to turn her down. I did not mention I had a job lined up already.

And in other news, I have one last interview tomorrow. My friend, the Executive Director of the Mansion, found out about a job opening at a company downtown. (FOCUS Greater Syracuse), and they need a marketing coordinator. It's not even posted yet. I sent my resume, 2 hours later I got a response and an interview lined up for tomorrow. Hey, why not. And sadly, I'm still waiting for some sort of response from the Housing place... they sure are taking their own sweet time! But it is the holidays, and I'm sure the ones that have to make the big decisions are all on vacation.

Meanwhile, I need to go pee in a cup today and pass a drug test so I can start my new job at Channel 3 next week...

Post-Christmas Post

Christmas 2014 is over. I think it was my favorite Christmas in years. Mostly because I didn't have to work. I enjoyed the tree every day. I listened to Christmas music, wrapped gifts, made dozens of cookies and other treats. And I had no stress to go with it. It was lovely. I also didn't have the stress of not having a job anymore, since I have one now. And I still have another week off before I have to go back to work!

This is the calm before the storm. 

We all ate breakfast before we tore into the presents. 

It didn't take long. Big things come in small packages these days. 

Eric was pleased with all his gifts.

Then we headed up to Fulton. We brought Sheila a shiny new grill for Christmas. And then Eric and Gary cooked up some amazing steak and turkey tips.

Oh, it was so good.

Some of the kids were on their various devices most of the evening.

Then dinner was ready. It was awesome. As usual.

Eric was all tuckered out.

The girls and Paula.

I think I need to get this recipe. Pistachio cool whip cake... OMG. It was so good.

Sheila gave Eric his old stocking. Isn't it adorable!?