Boring Details

Lately my blog has been a bunch of boring details about my new business.  Well, never fear!  I just created a blog specifically for Spotless, so this blog can continue to be about other, much more important things.  Like the fact that we had Sam fixed last week and it broke my heart.  Or that for our 2nd anniversary, my hubby and I went to the Smokies for a romantic getaway.  Or that for Thanksgiving I once again travelled to TN for our family reunion, but this time my hubby stayed home.

So, for those of you who want to stay in the loop with my new blog, here it is: http://spotlessmontgomery.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Marketing Myself

It feels strange to market yourself. I've marketed companies I don't believe in and companied I used to believe in (until they failed), but me - who I know to be trustworthy, dependable, and all that good stuff - it feels strange to market "me."

I have created a new website, created a facebook page for my company, passed out my business cards left and right, and created and ordered 500 copies of new fliers touting my awesomeness. But the next step is hard. Next I have to visit neighborhoods and literally go door to door passing out my fliers and talking myself up. I wish this thing could have grown bigger, quicker, by word of mouth alone, but considering I haven't pulled in a regular paycheck in months, I can't wait around for that to happen. Christmas is coming up, and although I'm already scouring my house for wonderfully inspired homemade gifts, we all know we need money at Christmas.

I'm hoping that the more clients I get, and the happier I keep them, the more people they'll eventually tell about me. But when I get a good hair cut, I don't automatically shout the stylist's praises from the rooftop. Why not? I feel bad now for not passing the word about good service I've received my whole life.

In the past two weeks, I have gotten 2 definite new clients, 1 that had to cancel her appointment and will (hopefully) reschedule for next week, and a few inquiries. Meanwhile, I've been very fortunate to keep my first client - I've been cleaning her house for 5 weeks now, and considering she's family, I don't see her firing me. But I've been known to jinx myself...

Anyway, the printer I hired to make 500 copies of my new flier (on bright green paper!) offers free deliver. I was expecting the lady about 2 hours ago, but she's not here yet. So, for now, I don't have to worry about pounding the pavement with fliers in hand. I must say, though, drumming up business for myself is SO MUCH BETTER than the months and months I've spent since college passing out my resume and trying to find a "real" job. Arrogant office workers are the worst.

To sum it up, it's hard to ask people to hire me. But I have to do it anyway. So, anyone know of someone in the River Region needing housecleaning? I happen to be great at it.

Spotless

Well, my business is up and running. OK, up and jogging. We're maybe at a steady trot.

I only have 2.5 clients right now, and a couple of possibilites. But - I just got my new business cell phone complete with phone number with the correct area code so as not to confuse people. I also just received my beautiful business cards (with the old number of course...) along with note cards to leave my clients. I'm in the process of designing a flier and will start harassing people in the tri-county area door-to-door once they're complete.

So, we're trotting, but soon we'll be running. Soon I won't feel so scared about paying bills. Soon I'll finally be able to start putting some money back into the savings account instead of the other way around. Soon my schedule will be full and I'll be making much more than I did in a traditional office job but I'll have the flexibility to vacation when I want and listen to my iPod all day. So, I hope soon gets here soon!

My Decision

I have decided to start my own house cleaning business. I've already placed an ad in the paper and have 2 clients ready to go. A designer friend is creating business cards, letter head, etc. for me. The only problem: I don't have a name settled yet. At first I was just going to clean houses. But I realized that with my organizational obsession and my marketing background, I wanted to go all out - invoices, Christmas cards, separate phone number. So I need a name. Not cutesy or a play-on-words, but classy and professional. Any suggestions? I've received Classy Cleaning or Cleaning with Class as suggestions - do you like either of those? I don't want to incorporate my name or in any other way use a fly-by-night sounding name. My target audience is working professionals who don't have the time to clean house themselves. Any thoughts? Additionally, I'm looking for a slogan to go along with this name. Thanks in advance for any help.

What Should I Do?

No, seriously - what should I do? I have been unemployed for a month now, and I have no leads. No interviews. No nothing. I've been considering lots of alternative options, and it's time I put them down "on paper" to view the pros and cons.

When I graduated with a BA in English, I chose not to go into the education department for my master's because I thought it was stereotypical for a woman to teach. I just didn't wanna and I resented everyone for asking me what I was going to do with my degree. When I was a junior in college I got a to-die-for internship with Southern Living magazine because I knew I wanted to go into publishing. I thought I was set after that internship, but that didn't turn out to be true, and because of one very negative, very vocal person who never actually worked with me, I could never put it on a resume. It was all pretty much for nothing.

After I graduated, I had a hard time finding work mostly because my fiance and I lived 2 hours apart and we didn't know where we were going to live after the wedding - so I didn't know where to find a job. I finally moved to Tuscaloosa where he lived, and I found a good job there - in publishing. My career was off to a fine start. But when he graduated and was offered a job 2 hours away, I had to quit. He was going to be the main bread winner, so it would be stupid for us to stay because of my job.

I spent 3 months being unemployed before I found another job in publishing - but this time the title was marketing. I didn't know anything about marketing, but this company didn't know the difference. They were pretty stupid. And bad at business, because less than a year later they had to lay off about 1/5 of the company, and I was included.

Because the COO of that company often used a particular temp service, she referred me there and told me they would take care of me. She was right - one week later I was earning almost double in a great job. It was temporary, but my superiors praised me constantly and were actively trying to hire me permanently. The one problem - it was a failing bank. Despite all their efforts, they had to let me go 6 months later, and after 2 more temporary assignments in a different department (about 2 weeks long each), the bank failed. It has now been sold to a bank from North Carolina, and all my friends are scared for their jobs. I can kiss all those contacts goodbye.

So, here I sit feeling more and more worthless every day. Career-wise, I want a fulfilling job that pays a decent amount and gives me a decent amount of freedom (read, I never want to clock the hell in again). But most importantly, I don't want to work when I have small children. If I have to go back to work once all my children are in school, that is one thing, but I am quite adamant about raising my own babies. Talk about a cross roads.

Some of the options we've discussed include me honing my photography skills and slowly growing a business (I blogged about this); going back to school for my master's in education (same hours and holidays as future children); getting my realtor's license (a dream I once looked into about a year ago); and starting a business of another sort (we've discussed several).

Photography: It is a hobby right now - nothing more. I would need to take classes, purchase equipment, etc. It would take a long time to grow this into a profitable business. Big risk of failure, I suppose. Also, lots of work on weekends.

Back to school: This might be my best option, but I would have to find a job in the meantime and take night classes. That doesn't sound so bad, but stupid me who didn't want to do the 5th year program (one year) might be looking at 3 years of classes due to No Child Left Behind requirements. I have applied for admission to a school here and am waiting on their official evaluation of my transcript to see which hoops I'll have to jump through. Long term, this would be a good option because I could teach once my children are of school age. Short term, I don't know how I would pay the bills. I can't take out a student loan because the law school student loan is like another mortgage payment and we don't need more payments. My biggest issue here is the thought of taking 3 years of classes, teaching 1 or 2 years and then taking off possibly up to 10 years while I have children and wait until the youngest is in school before beginning again.

Realty: When I was unemployed during the summer of 2008, this is an option I considered. I read books, did research, polled friends in the business, etc. It seemed like a good idea, but the main problem was cash - we didn't have any. My husband's job was delayed indefinitely as soon as we unpacked the U-Haul, and we went into conservation mode. Neither of us earned any money for about 2 months, and I didn't for another month after that. Our credit cards were nearly maxed out and we simply couldn't put any money into any ventures. Now we're in a different situation - it took us about a year, but we paid off the cards, we have a good chunk in our savings account, and we might be able to swing this. Hopefully by the time I'd be licensed the housing market would be looking better.

Another business: We have also looked into all kinds of self-employment. We would both love to be self-employed. Being cooped up in an office where someone else calls the shots has never set well with either of us. We've looked into owning a few franchises. One seemed promising, but they wouldn't return my calls, so they're obviously not the kind of company I'd want to work with. Another seemed great, but it would be too expensive right now.

Last option: I was approached several weeks ago by a church friend who doesn't have a regular job - she cleans houses. She had too many and asked if I wanted to join her and clean the houses she didn't have time for. At the time I was so not into this option. Now, I am considering it. If I could get enough houses, the money would be great. She charges $30 an hour, but I would imagine most people paying to have their houses cleaned only have it done twice a month.

I don't have a clue.

I'm a Loser, Baby

I'm a total loser for not posting anything in such a long time. It's not that I haven't had anything going on. I have done another temp assignment for the same company I've been with off and on for 8 months. That bank failed the day after my last assignment ended, and after being taken over by the FDIC, it was purchased by another bank based in NC, so all my friends now feel that their jobs will disappear in a few month's time. That's probably true.

I am participating in a weight loss challenge with the girls from my Sunday school class. So far I've lost about 10 pounds (3 weeks in).

Last weekend we went to the beach with my mom, step dad, brother, and step brother. My sister went too, but we were there at different times.

All last week I had some dreadful summer cold. I lost my voice while at the beach. I had a terrible cough and was sort of miserable for a few days. Glad that's over.

My puppy is trained to the underground fence now. He is such a champ. He's also almost 50 pounds now. We almost can't pick him up now.

I don't have a job.

I will try to be better, but that's all I've got for now.

Lay-offs suck!

I just found out that my good friend at my old job was let go today. I've never even met her, as I worked at corporate headquarters and she worked in South Florida, but we spoke almost daily and worked together on numerous projects. She also went to bat for me more than once, trying to get my temp job to turn permanent. She was an SVP. I didn't expect her to be let go. Now I'm trying to find her on the Internet because all I have is her professional contact info. Lay-offs suck.

Unemployment Breeds Creativity

So I haven't blogged in a month... It's been a whirlwind for me. Quick update: I left my last job with tears and good-bye lunches. I was sad and disappointed. After a week of wishing I could permanently stay home, I got called for a temporary assignment with the same company I'd just left, but in a vastly different department. The job was horrible, the pay was horrible, and the coworkers were horrible. Two weeks later, it was over.

So here I am, unemployed again and being super productive at home. I am on top of all the chores, laundry is done, I feel relaxed that I don't have to drive in rush-hour traffic and come home to a pile of things to do.

During all this transition (there's a word I'm sick of) I have made a decision. Z and I would really love it if I could stay home once we have children. On the other hand, we'd really like to afford things. With all of my career changes lately, we've been thinking about the types of things I could do either once we have children or once the children are school-age. Going back to school for my masters in education was a topic, but I ultimately don't think that's for me. And we'd still have the problem of me working on someone else's schedule.

For a long time now, I have been very interested in photography. I want to learn more and practice more, with a quality camera. I have decided to pursue this now, while searching for a job and ultimately keeping a day job, until I am secure enough to make photography my career - children's portraits, family sessions, weddings, etc. I plan to do it all. Down the line I might even have a studio, who knows? What I do know is that I have been lacking a creative outlet since I left school and don't have opportunities to write (I know, that's what this blog was for...), and I need to be creative. I also need to quit working for companies that don't appreciate me or appropriately compensate me. That isn't to sound snobby, but it's a fact that for the past three years I've been largely underpaid, underappreciated and unhappy in my career choices. There was a brief 5-month window where I loved my job, but with this economy, I couldn't count on that, and I was laid off. I am ready to make success for myself.

I am weighing my options right now on which camera I should purchase. I've been asking photographer friends, researching different brands and styles, and comparing prices. Once I decide on the best I can afford, I will buy it and begin practicing. You'll probably see some of my early attempts at great art here, but I'll eventually start a separate photography blog. I guess we'll see.

Here's to stepping out on a limb, which I pretty much never do. Ever.

I got a puppy... and got laid off

Last Friday was an eventful day. From early morning to late at night it was chock-full of emotion. As soon as I got to work, I was called into my boss’s boss’s office – for most people, this would be scary, but I wasn’t scared because I thought this was a specific meeting I’d been anticipating. I was wrong. She started out with buttering me up and then she said that she wasn’t going to be able to keep me past June 12. If you’ll remember, I was only a temp, but since February I’ve been practically promised a permanent position. Then, just a few weeks ago I was told that although there’s a hiring freeze, they would extend my temp contract until the end of the year. And now I’m gone in 2 weeks? I cried. She cried. It was a total shock. After that news, I spent the rest of the day talking with my work friends (they’re all scared they’re next, and rightly so) and generally wondering what’s going to happen.

My crappy day was about to get a lot better though. That night, Z and I drove to Sylacauga to see some puppies for sale. We went looking for a white lab, but one of the chocolates stole our hearts and we picked him instead. On the way home, we named him Sam. One of my work friends who lives in my neighborhood had offered to loan us a dog house and some toys, etc., until we got prepared. So, she came over to visit with us for a while. After she left, we walked around the block a few times with Sam to tire him out (it was pretty late) and go to bed. Well, as you can imagine, he was awfully lonely in his “pen” and cried quite a bit.

Let me explain. We are going to be using an underground fence once Sam gets a little bigger. We also put up a chain link fence in one corner of the backyard for Sam to sleep and stay safe while he’s a baby. We call it a pen, but it is actually 30’ x 30’ and nicely shaded, etc. So I know the word “pen” sounds awful, but it’s a very nice area, trust me.

Anyway, that night, we knew he would cry all night because he was accustomed to sleeping with 13 roly-poly brothers and sisters and he was obviously lonely. So, we brought him up to the porch and we slept on the chaise lounges all night. Saturday dawned cool and clear – a beautiful day. We took a walk very early waiting for Tractor Supply to open so we could get Sam a collar, leash, food dish, etc. We have a great neighborhood for walking – it’s a quiet, older neighborhood, and it’s on a lake, so it isn’t all blocks but a very lovely view. Later we went to Tractor Supply where we pushed two buggies – one for the merchandise and one for the puppy to sleep in! Sam was a big hit there! Next we went to PetSmart to find “pig ears” (yuck) but he did not like that place – I think there were too many smells. We went home for a while and called around to find a vet because he was due for his first shots. Around 11:00 we found a vet and took Sam for his first visit, where he did very well despite the large, barking dogs in the waiting area. We went home and played with our puppy and ate lunch before taking our cars to get oil changes. We decided to put Sam in his pen during these errands because he’d been napping in the floorboard of the car all morning and we wanted to let him play in the grass. But, we were also very nervous to leave him there alone – he’d never been alone before. We both drove to Wal-Mart, dropped off one car, drove back home, waited 30 minutes, drove back, dropped off the other car, drove back home, waited 30 minutes, drove back and came home with both cars. Whew – Sam seemed to handle it OK.

That evening, our jerk neighbor kids began playing basketball around 10:00 (my mother would have had a fit if I’d done that. When was the last time you listened to someone playing basketball in the dead of the night, right beside the water? That crap is loud!), so we had to bring Sam on the porch because his pen kept getting a basketball bounced against it. Z and I watched Soprano’s while Sam napped on the porch. When the neighbors finally went inside, Z put Sam to bed. A little later, Z fell asleep on the couch (what a long day) and I checked e-mail and the like, listening to the silence. About an hour later, I woke Z up so he could get in the bed and I finally collapsed on the bed, utterly exhausted. Not 5 minutes later, Sam woke up and started crying (not yet able to fully bark) and whining. Trying not to wake Z, I crept out the door to go check on my baby. I went in his pen to sit with him and soothe him. After about 45 minutes he fell asleep at my feet. I literally tip-toed out of the pen and into the house. I slept on the couch for about 2 hours until I heard Sam wake up again and begin to cry. Exhausted, I put my shoes back on and went back outside. Although it was frustrating, it was also heart breaking because I knew he was scared and lonely. I was only outside for a few minutes when Z came out too. We visited with Sam for a while and then decided to tire him out by walking around the neighborhood again. It was about 3:30 a.m.

After that, we tried the pen but Sam was just too sad, so Z slept on the couch while Sam slept on the porch. Our porch is right off of our living room, and all the windows were open, so Sam was OK with that arrangement.

That morning, I told Z he should stay home and rest while I went to church, but I left after the choir sang the anthem. I got home and we ate lunch and played with the puppy for a long time. Z cut grass which didn’t scare Sam at all. Around 6:00 that evening we took our inflatable boat out on the lake with Sam, thinking he’d have fun swimming, as labs love the water. But, as soon as we got out there I got scared wondering if swimming is completely instinctual or if there was a chance he’d sink… the lake was once a rock quarry and it’s unbelievably deep immediately off the shore, so if anybody’s sinking, there’s probably no finding them. So, like a scared mama I held him in the boat and he finally gave up and napped while Z and I paddled around.

After our boat trip, we went on a walk, eventually visiting my friend’s house to let her see how much Sam had grown in 2 days. We finally got home around 8:30 and fed Sam his dinner. (Each time we put him in the pen, we make sure to stay with him, talking, playing, whatever so that he doesn’t associate the pen with sadness or loneliness. We also feed him there so he’ll have something to look forward to when we walk towards the pen.) He was very sleepy, so he settled down immediately and we went inside so we could eat dinner too. We ate around 9:30 and I’ll be damned if at 10:00 those basketball jerks came outside again, slamming the ball into our privacy fence, yelling cuss words and waking up my baby. Sam started his psycho barking (yes, he learned how to bark rather quickly) and digging at the fence line trying to get at the ball. We were completely exhausted, frazzled and livid. I had to go to work the next day – I couldn’t stay up all night with a baby puppy! Furious with those neighbors, we brought Sam up to the porch again and he immediately fell asleep. It was around 11:00, way past my pre-puppy bedtime, and we just wanted to sleep, so Z volunteered to sleep on the couch again rather than risk moving Sam and waking him up. All three of us slept like logs.

Monday morning I got up at 5:00 for work, and went outside where Z was sitting with Sam. We played for a while, and then they went on a walk while I showered and got ready. Thankfully Z had Monday off work except for one mid-morning meeting, so he had almost all day to spend with Sam. When I left for work though, I started crying. My heart was breaking for this little puppy. What had we done? Why did we get a puppy to disrupt our lives when everything was so peaceful? How was I going to make it through the day sleep-deprived and guilty? Would Sam be OK while Z was gone for a few hours?

Z called me at work when he got back home. He said that Sam had been so upset while he was gone that he threw up his breakfast. However, that must have been the breaking point for him because after that, he acted so much calmer. He began entertaining himself with toys in the pen instead of frantically digging under the gate. He took a nap on some ice that Z poured on the porch, he played in the yard with Z. (Sam is also getting much better about not staying right under our feet. He ventures out into the yard without us. In short, my little baby is growing up!)

When I got home from work, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was in the middle of his pen happily chewing a toy, not barking or crying. Amazing! After a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get him a new toy (now that we know what he likes) we played with him all evening, even letting him swim in the lake a little. After we ate dinner, we went on a very long walk where we visited with a nice neighbor. When we got back we fed Sam his dinner and sat with him for a while. When we went inside around 8:30 he didn’t make one peep.

Z had to leave on business that night, so I was on my own with the puppy. I got out the laptop so I could listen out for Sam and still look for jobs. Even when those mofos started playing ball again (Seriously? What are they, allergic to the sun?), Sam handled it with ease. He certainly woke up, but he just watched them without having an anxiety attack. Around 10:00 the sprinklers came on, and as these are pretty loud and make scary noises, I wasn’t surprised that Sam started crying a little. So, when the sprinklers in the backyard went off and I could walk outside, I went to go visit with him before I went to bed. I just sat with him in his pen, pointing out his water which he sometimes forgets to drink, playing fetch with him (he’s still learning the concept) and petting him. OK, I admit that I also sang lullabies to him, but he liked it! After about 30 minutes I went inside, and he – ready? – slept/stayed quiet until 6:00 this morning!

This morning I did everything to get ready for work except put on work clothes and then I went outside to play with Sam. I was so proud of him! We walked around the neighborhood a little until we saw a very large dog with no leash at which point I picked Sam up and went back home. He had breakfast and then I went inside to change. While I finished getting ready for work he did go psycho for about 10 minutes, but then he must have remembered his manners because by the time I left, he was completely fine! I’m such a proud mama!

End of Birthday Week - End of Marketing

There has been so much going on lately! The lady I've been temping for returned to work last Monday - what an emotional roller coaster that was. I felt like I was losing my job, being demoted, turning into an outcast. For three months I had been praised and complimented on my work. I was even told that I did a better job than the actual employee. And for three months I was told the department was trying to employ me permanently, that they'd make a place for me because I was valuable to them. I hoped and prayed that the woman would decide to stay home full time - that she would quit. I knew I was setting myself up for disappointment, but I hoped it anyway.

Well, she came back and it's been a bit of culture shock. All of a sudden I was being left out of conversations, excluded from meetings, and generally being treated like a temp whose time was up. It was depressing. The good news is that they worked out a deal so that I will stay there but work in the Communications department. Communications is part of Marketing, but a tiny part. There is only the director and her one employee who is an Asst VP. And I'm going to remain a temp - one guess who will get all the bitch work. I'm grateful to remain there, but it's been difficult for me to show my gratitude this past week. Tomorrow is my first official day in Communications.

This past week was my birthday. The day itself was pretty much a normal day except my work friends took me to lunch and my hubby took me to dinner. Other than that, I was waiting for my birthday cookout this weekend. I'd invited my mom and stepdad, brother, sister and her new boyfriend to our house for a cookout. I made Z wait until then to give me his presents.

The cookout was yesterday and it was great. Z cooked a boston butt and everybody else brought food too. I got to show everyone all the hard work we'd done in the yard - plus my sister hadn't even seen my house since the day she helped me paint, before we moved in.

I got lots of great gifts too - right now I'm downloading music onto my new iPod from Z!

I'm kind of dreading tomorrow - just a little.

Job Woes

We can't get a puppy because we shouldn't purchase a fence. My job situation is too uncertain right now. They've been telling me since February that they're going to hire me, but it's one excuse after another. All they can do is extend my temp contract through 7-31. Still no promise of a job after that. So, no puppy.

Almost Puppy Time

Today we've been preparing to finish our fence. We went to Lowe's and Marvin's to price all the pieces we'll need. Then we spent the afternoon clearing brush, smoothing out humps in the yard, etc. I also did housework - laundry, dusting, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms...

We had our first rose bloom today! It's a red one, but in the rose garden there are many buds, and I think the next one to bloom will be yellow.

Tomorrow is Easter and I'm excited. I have to be at church at 8:10 for choir rehearsal. After singing in both services, I'll be headed to B'ham to Granny's house. (That reminds me, I need to go to the store so I can make my blackberry cobbler...)

We might get a puppy in time for my birthday!

Spring has Sprung in Prattvegas

At the beginning of March, I received the starter for Amish Friendship Bread, a delicious dessert-y bread, from a friend at work. It's a 10-day starter with tons of ingredients and even more calories, but it is goooood. I made it for the first time in early March. Each batch makes 2 loaves, so I decided to keep one for ourselves and give one to some neighbors. While you're preparing the bread, it yields 4 more starters (that you're supposed to give to friends). Z loved the bread so much that I decided to keep all 4 starters and make all the bread to give away to people. So, 10 days later, there I was baking 8 loaves of bread (a total of 6 hours, not including the time I spent driving to the store after round 1 for more cinnamon and flour.) I was able to share bread with lots of people, and it was fun! I only kept 1 starter that night, and I'll bake that tomorrow, just in time to share with Sunday School friends on Sunday.

Last week was my step father's birthday, so Friday night we gathered at a restaurant in Alabaster for dinner. Afterwards we went to my sister's house for presents and dessert. It was very enjoyable - I love my family.

Also last weekend, Z and I put up our privacy fence. Now, we live on the lake and normally love our view (Canadian geese walking around our yard, for an elegant example), but the neighbors whose yard is against our backyard are downright junky. Spare tires, tin-roofed chicken coop, broken toys, etc. Plus, our back porch looks straight into the side of their house, so when we sit on our porch, it looks like we're staring at them. So, we only put a privacy fence on that one border. I know, I know, it could easily be taken as an insult. Believe me, I stewed about this for months. But, I like to think that they appreciate the privacy we gave them, too. So, Saturday morning we borrowed our Sunday School teachers' old truck and went to Lowe's to buy the lumber. While we were checking out, we saw some church friends and their adorable 2-year-old daughter. We invited them to dinner after we were all done working in our respective yards.

Saturday Z started putting up the fence while I painted the wood trim on our storage building and planted flowers. Then our friends came over and we grilled burgers. Their little girl kept us all entertained. She liked "reading" my poetry books, helping me cook french fries, and pretending the tiki torches (for mosquitos) were burning her (she was nowhere near them, but she kept putting her hands over her face and saying, "Ow - it's burning me!')

The next morning we went to church (my first Sunday to sing in the choir) and started in the yard as soon as we ate lunch. We worked on the fence for 7 hours straight, until it was slap-out dark. But we finished it, and it looks great!

Our yard is beginning to look really beautiful. We have jasmine and honeysuckle growing on the arbor, wisteria in the woods, the lawn is greening by the minute, our rose bushes are growing (except the one we had to replace - hey, 1 out of 16's not bad). Our neighbors have gorgeous azaleas that have been blooming for weeks. Our daffodils are wonderful, and although only one tulip is blooming, its bright red bloom is amazing. And did I mention the Canadian geese wandering around the yard all day? Spring is breathtaking, really.

Blog Explosion

Wow - talk about being a slacker. Of all the millions of things going on in my life this past month or so, blogging has not been one of them. I feel like I haven't had a moment to catch my breath since I've started my new job. Not that I'm complaining, but I certainly have a lot of catching up to do here. Ready? Here we go.

1. I had my first real bonding opportunity with the women from my Sunday School class during the first weekend of Feb when they invited me on their annual retreat. It was in an almost luxury cabin in the woods. We all spent the weekend relaxing, sharing, getting to know one another better, etc. It was very nice to be able to get away for a while and have some girl talk. I've been starved for girlfriends since leaving college and leaving my friends in Tuscaloosa.

2. Now for the main reason I haven't been able to blog about anything. My mentor at work (the woman I'm filling in for during her extended maternity leave) wound up leaving a couple of days earlier than planned and left me flying solo. That's not completely accurate - I have lots of kind and helpful coworkers, but they have their own mountains of work to do. Seriously though, the woman I'm filling in for is in charge of all local and regional marketing, including coordinating grand openings of new branches, in all regions of all of our states, plus assisting with corporate advertising. That's a ton of responsibility, and I love every minute of it. It's beyond stressful, but I freaking love it.

3. Another even that, under normal circumstances, would have warranted its own post is that my friend Candace got married. On Valentine's Day she married her sweetheart in Knoxville. Yes, Knoxville. We wound up spending about 14 hours in the car, I believe, and we missed watching the beautiful bride walk down the aisle. That was extremely upsetting, but it really didn't seem to bother her. (She's not quite as sentimental and all-around sensitive as I am.) The wedding was nice - small, but nice. I could tell that the mother of the bride had put lots of creativity into the event, and I hope the happy couple loved every minute of it. It's totally surreal to imagine her married.

4. I briefly blogged about this already, but on Feb 16 (President's Day - it's awesome to work for a bank and have a spouse who works for the state), we had our new storage building "installed" (it was built on our property, not delivered) and Z and I built our porch swing frame with an arbor around it. It was cooooooold that morning, and we were out in the backyard pounding raildroad stakes into 4x4s. Talk about sturdy. The next weekend we created a rose garden in our backyard. Along with 16 rose bushes, it contins an iron, decorative hanging plant stand which holds 4 hanging plants, 2 birdfeedsers, and the most gorgeous stained bird bath you've ever seen. Even though the roses are nowhere near blooming yet, our backyard looks so much better! (The product of two people raised in the country and cooped up in dorms and apartments for the past 6 years.)

5. Of course during the last weekend of Feb we had tornadoes and snow like just about everyone else in AL, but Z and I also had a lovely visit to Hoover that weekend to shop for work clothes at the Galleria and meet some family for dinner at the Fish Market Restaurant. Since we live about 2 hours away from just about everyone now, we have to grab those little moments when we can - and it was a very fun evening.

6. On March 2, my beloved Granny (no really - she's the world's greatest Granny) had hip replacement surgery. She had the other hip done about 15 years ago. After that surgery, she developed a blood clot and had to stay in the hospital for weeeeeeeeks. This time, though, everything went very well and she's already been home for several days now.

7. My mom's side of the family is quite musical. Most of us sing, and many of us (but not me) play at least one instrument. I grew up singing in children's choir at church and then went on to audition for and perform in my high school's concert choir. Now, our high school didn't have the best athletics and our football program always sucked, but our marching band and concert choir were at least state-renowned. Anyway, I haven't been part of a choir in a long time. For the past month or two, though, I've noticed that during hymns at church, the choir director is noticing me. Eventually he introduced himself after church one day and said that he could tell I sing (whatever that means - is everyone else not even moving their lips? I don't know.) He originally asked me to join the choir over a month ago, and I really intended to being going to Wed night practice, but for about 4 Wednesdays in a row, I swear, we were either having tornadoes or I got stuck in terrible traffice (my commute is pretty bad now). But last Wed, I finally went to practice, and I really enjoyed it! Yes, it was hard to rush home, rush to get dinner on the table, and rush out the door, but it was lots of fun, and I figure these things will be a lot harder when we have children, so I better live it up now. Anyway, it was a good release.

8. I received the starter for some Amish friendship bread several days ago, and it finally came time to bake it last Sunday night. It was pretty freaking delicious, and instead of giving away any of the starter this time, I kept all 4 portions, which makes two loaves each. I plan on making friends with the neighbors, finally, and letting Z butter up some coworkers. Eventually I'll have to kill the starter, though, because it multiplies and I don't have time to bake tons of bread all the time, even though it is amazing.

9. This past weekend, my great friend and her family hosted their annual spring-time get together - their Daffodil Party. It's an evening in their beautifully landscaped gardens visiting with old friends and celebrating spring's arrival. It's pretty wonderful.

10. We finally bought a lawnmower last week. Sat morning, before we left for the party, Z mowed the lawn for the first time as a homeowner.

11. I stayed home "sick" today. I didn't feel quite so bad as I just didn't feel too good. And I'm freaking exhausted (see #2 for explanation), so I looked at it as a mental health day, necessary for me to remain a good employee. It turns out, I'm even more appreciated than I thought. Even though my manager has told me that he is working with HR to make me a real employee, I was still surprised that he called me this morning after learning that I was home sick. He said that he panicked and had to cancel meetings that I was to head up because I've done such a good job in taking over the responsibilities that he has no idea how to cover for me. He told me how necessary I am and that he called HR and told them to fast track the process! That made me feel pretty great.

Roses!

We created a gorgeous rose garden this weekend with the most beautiful Italian-stained birdbath every created!

No Time for a Breather

We have been so crazy busy lately - but in a really good way. This weekend we travelled to Knoxville, TN for our friend's wedding. It was great seeing her pledge her life to the man she loves, but it was one heck of a drive - our whole trip was right at 14 hours, and the wedding and reception combined was less than 2 hours of that... That's a really long day!

Yesterday, Sunday, we got the yard leveled out in the area where we're getting our storage building installed. We also planted some flowers and borrowed a family member's truck to go get lots of lumber for our next project - building a frame for our porch swing. We're not doing the simple A-frame. We are doing a much larger frame, and putting lattace on it to have morning glories, roses, etc., grow up it. So, it's part porch swing, part arbor.

This morning, at 7:00 (around 34 degrees) we started working on the porch swing. It's huge - I'll try to remember to post a picture when we're done. Z is at Lowe's right now getting two more pieces of lumber so we can finish.

The guys to install the storage building are here now (now it's about 47 degrees and the sun is in the yard) and they're working awfully fast - we'll probably be moving all the tools into it by night fall.

So glad this is a long weekend!

New Possibilities

After I got laid off, I took the rest of that week off. Not to sulk, really, but to process my thoughts and figure out what to do. The next week I had interviews everyday except MLK Day. I met with two staffing agencies, had an interview on my own, and was sent on one by agency #2. The interview I had on my own was with a small start-up. They were looking for a marketing coordinator, but I wasn't convinced they were looking for me. Still, I thought they might offer me the job. Boy am I glad they didn't. The interview the agency sent me to was for the corporate headquarters of a large bank. I wasn't excited about it because it was a temporary job and the location was pretty far away from our house. But at the interview I found out that the job was filling in for the Senior Marketing Specialist while she's on a 3-month maternity leave. Count training before and catching her back up afterwards, and it turns into a 4 or 5 month assignment. However, I've been told by about 5 different people, including the 2 who interviewed me, that it's a growing and evolving company, and there's always the possibility that they'd keep me on after she comes back. So I don't feel that I'll be let go. Of course I could - that's the official deal, but I'm feeling positive and treating this like a 4 month interview. So far I feel like I've impressed people and done a good job.

This is my second week, and so far I really like it. I've been training, of course, which makes you feel stupid and annoying for asking so many questions. I'm in charge of local and regional marketing for all of our regions (5 states), along with all of our grand openings of new branches. It's really fast-paced, which is what I love. I've learned a lot. I think my favorite part of this new job is the level of professionalism. Everyone wears a suit just about every day, everyone respects each other's personal space and privacy, and everyone seems really intelligent, but not snobby. So far I haven't met any office weirdos or even rude people. All my coworkers have been the appropriate amount of friendly, I get along with them, and I think they seem to like me.

All around, I feel like this was a really good thing for me. I didn't fit in at the old place, and I was really bored. Here, the days fly by and I feel challenged, as well as needed.

Now if only it would become permanent...

Boy Do I Feel Better

I have just returned from an appointment with the first "placement agency" I contacted. This one was in Prattvegas. I'd heard positive things about them from some Sunday School members, so I decided to give it a whirl, even though I hated the temp agencies in Tuscaloosa.

It was a pain, of course. You must fill out your entire work history, even though you bring a resume. You sign a million papers and consent forms, and I had to provide 7 years' worth of residences for a background check. After filling out the application (that really took me about 30 minutes) a woman came in to "interview" me. She asked what I was looking for and what my minimum accepted pay would be. Then she informed me there's nothing now, but if I call every week to say I'm still interested, they'll keep me on the "professional list." (There's also an "industry list.")

But that isn't the exciting part. Yesterday morning a friend from Sunday School called me to say her coworker's husband is the president of a local company that creates Web sites for people and other businesses. They've created a social networking site and need someone to help market it as well as write copy for their other sites. Uh, hello, perfect! So I sent her my resume, she forwarded it on to the coworker's husband, and I waited. Last night we were at Wal-Mart killing time during an oil change, and we apparently lost cell phone signal, because later I saw I had a missed call. The area code was Montgomery, and I got excited. However, there was no voicemail, so I called the number back. It was 5:15. I got an answering machine, but it was the company I'd send my resume to! So I got to wondering why the man hadn't left a message for me. Then it hit me - on Saturday I'd driven home to get on my mother's family plan and drop my own phone plan to save some money. Since I was switching providers, I had to get a new phone. Same number, but different phone. I HADN'T SET UP MY NEW VOICEMAIL!

Thankfully, once I got home I saw that he'd emailed me saying he thought I'd be a good fit for this new position, and he'd try to meet with me as soon as possible! Hooray!

Tomorrow I meet with another agency, this time in Montgomery. This is the office that my previous employers went through anytime they needed to find a new employee (except me, who was hired the good old-fashioned way.) So my old boss actually called them on my behalf and put in a good word for me. Afterwards, the president emailed me to say he looked forward to meeting with me and would see what he could find for me.

So even though I don't have a job yet, I'm not feeling hopeless at all. I'm actually feeling quite positive.

Also, today we found out that Z's cousin is expecting a baby about 8 months from now. What a good day.

"I've Got Some Bad News For You"

That's what my boss told me Wednesday afternoon about a second a half before she said, "We're gonna have to let you go."

That's right, folks. I was laid off.

Sure, I knew times were tough, and I had definitely noticed all the closed-door meetings lately, but I still felt like I'd been slapped in the face. I mean, I've never been laid off before, or fired in any other way. Of course I cried. I cried like a baby. My friend cried too - we were fired together. Isn't that sweet? Just another unprofessional act from my unprofessional boss. She called us both into her office around 4:00 that afternoon. She laid it on thick too - claiming she'd been crying for days and hadn't slept and was so upset. Wow, that sure makes me feel better. She assured me that she did remember that I'd just bought a house, and she's sorry about that.

This came right on the heels of my office cancelling health insurance (thank goodness I'm on Z's plan) and drastically cutting costs in other ways. The expo I'd been working on for the past six months was cancelled the week before, without anyone telling me. If I'd known that, I would have been prepared, but they kept that a secret, letting me continue calling prospective exhibitors, begging them to sign up and pay a deposit.

We came out of her office about 30 minutes later, tear stained and confused. It just all happened so fast. She gave us our final checks and our W-2s, saying she'd pay us one more paycheck and good luck. We went to my cubicle where our co-worker was waiting for us. She's an older (68) lady who was very upset that we both got canned - we were the only people sitting in her department and we'd become friends. She cried with us quite a bit until we were interrupted.

Our boss had come back over to remind us that if we knew of anyone needing the services of the company, please, please, please send them her way. Uh, excuse me, what? Why in the hell would I take the time to usher business to you after you fired me not 5 minutes ago? I swear, that woman is so dense.

By this point it was almost 5:00, and although she told us we could come back the next day to gather our things, I knew I didn't want to return. I hated the job when I had it; I certainly didn't want to go to work after I'd been let go! So I took the time to pack up my pictures, personal office supplies, etc., as well as delete my files from the computer. It took quite a while, so I was about 45 minutes late coming home. Well, since I hated my job, I have never stayed late - not once. I always arrive home by 5:15, so Z was getting concerned. Then I walked in with my face all red and blotchy and he was much more concerned.

After discussing everything, though, we've decided this is really a blessing in disguise. I hated, I mean really hated that job and the office and the work and everything about it, and there's no way I could have quit before lining up another job. However, it's extremely difficult to find a job when you're working 40 hours a week at an office with no privacy. So even though I'm concerned about money (who the hell wouldn't be?) I'm confident that I'll find a place to work that is better (what could be worse?) and maybe - gasp - fulfilling.

I took Thursday completely off, meeting my sister for lunch and taking it easy around the house, letting my semi-scary situation sink in (and, let's be honest, feeling miserable. It was also the 2nd anniversary of my dad's death and I'd planned on taking the day off anyway). Friday I worked on my resume and set up appointments with two different placement agencies, after searching crappy job postings all day long.

Today I got a new haircut and got my wedding rings cleaned - I'm ready to conquer the world.

Take that, HB.

Clarification

So, I know in my "resolutions" post the other day I mentioned being healthier in 2009. Of course that's a crock of crap and I just plain old want to lose weight. I don't know too many women who don't, so I get that this isn't a unique desire. Once upon a time I felt like I looked good. I thought that I had a nice ass, great boobs, and a decent waist. Now I don't feel so good about myself. I've had lots of stressful times in the past couple of years (long-distance relationship, college graduation, death of my father, unemployment, wedding planning, moving, more unemployment), and during each situation I took worse care of myself and gained a little more weight. My main concern though isn't going to the beach next summer, or what my husband thinks of me, or even stepping on the scale because I don't do that anyway unless I'm at the doctor's office. My main concern is pregnancy. I don't plan (key word: plan) on getting pregnant for another few years, but I absolutely must be in shape for pregnancy. The thought of being one of those fatty pregnant women makes me sick. My good friend Jessica had a baby last year and looked phenomenal through her whole pregnancy. She was one of those girls that if you saw her from behind, you couldn't even tell she was pregnant. On the other hand, I also knew a woman that I just thought was very large. It took someone telling me she was 8 months pregnant for me to even notice the baby. She just had gross rolls all over her. Those are two extremes that most women don't experience, I realize, but still, I want to be a beautiful pregnant woman.

Last summer, Z and I joined the Prattvegas YMCA. It has served its purpose. We have a home gym, but our spare room apparently wasn't insulated and we couldn't use it. So we went to the gym where we could work out in the comfort of air conditioning. But now that we've moved, it takes almost 30 minutes to drive there, and also the monthly fee has gone up a little in the new year. So we are quitting the gym (I'm reminded of a Friends episode) and switching to a combination of using our home gym (which is now conveniently located in a beautiful new home with working A/C) and walking in our neighborhood (we've never lived in a neighborhood before, so walking without the indoor treadmill was dangerous and unlikely). Perhaps I will become svelte, who knows?

Glorious Weekend

I had such a great weekend. Our holidays were so hectic that I really hadn't felt rested or relaxed in a long time, even though with the holidays came a few days off work. Friday night was still a little crazy – I'd made a lasagna the night before for brand new parents in my Sunday School class, and we'd invited a college friend over to watch football and hang out. So I get off work, go straight home, get the lasagna, and drive into Prattvegas to deliver it. This would normally be no more than a 15 minute drive, but at rush hour Prattvegas becomes the 7th circle of hell. And then I discover that I'd been given the wrong address. So, my lasagna was a little late, and I didn't get back to my house to start getting dinner ready for Z and our guest until about 7:00. Anyway, that visit was very nice, even though I fell asleep during the football game.

Saturday morning we didn't sleep in too much (sleeping past 8:00 makes me feel like a bum), but we woke up slowly which is more important. I got a lot of great books for Christmas, so I read Saturday morning, and we spent a lot of time in the yard (it was strangely warm) measuring for our fence and digging up someone's long-forgotten pole which had been cemented into a bucket and the whole shebang buried. I'm not sure what it was used for, but we dug it up and generally just cleaned up the yard. The neighbors seem to view our side of their fence as a dumping ground of little items. It's like they think if we can't see it from our house it isn't littering. So I go outside and pick up Big Mac boxes, gum wrappers, etc. Also, this weekend I found a few butter knives, two pieces of pipe, and a pair of scissors. All in one corner of our yard… This is weird because nobody has lived on our property. The house was just built last summer, and it was a wooded lot before that. It makes me think that Damien threw them (at us? at animals?) or something. I don't know what to think about all that.

Saturday afternoon a storm blew in and we sat on the porch watching it rain and just enjoyed nature. Since both us were raised in the country, this is natural to us. The apartments were definitely not natural. People shouldn't be shut up like that.

Anyway, Sunday we went to church as normal, then went home to get ready for my mom, step dad, and brother's visit. They hadn't seen our house since about a week before we moved in, so we had them over for lunch. The menu was parmesan oven-fried chicken, fresh green beans, cinnamon apples, mashed potatoes, sour cream muffins, and key lime pie for dessert (my mother made that). I only have two hands, and this took a lot of prep. (The chicken alone had 30 minutes prep and an hour cook time.) So when my mother arrived she helped me get lunch ready. It's been a long time since my mother and I cooked together, so that was lots of fun. The meal was a big hit too, even though it was almost 2:00 before we ate.

They stayed for a few hours and hung out with us on the porch, admiring our new house (it does look quite different from the last time they saw it), and just visiting. After they left around 5:00, Z and I went to Books-a-Million to return several duplicated books I'd gotten for Christmas and get a couple of new ones with our store credit. Then we went home for a quiet evening of reading. How very quaint. It was a splendid weekend, all around, and I hated to ruin it by coming to work this morning.

P.S. At nighttime we always set the security system for the doors and windows, but never the motion detectors, because of course we're still in the house. Last night Z was either playing a practical joke or being forgetful, I'm not sure, but around 12:30 a.m. when I got out of bed to get a glass of water, I walked through the living room and the alarm started shrieking at me. It took us a while to get back to sleep after that little episode.

So This is the New Year

"So this is the new year." That's one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite groups, Death Cab. I'm not a big fan of New Year's Eve or Day. I just don't really get what the big deal is or what exactly we're celebrating – the passage of time? Sure it's fun to remember all the highlights of the year and talk about hopes for the upcoming year. That's what Z and I did while we drove 3.5 hours to "celebrate" NYE at our friends' apartment in Huntsville. We thought about the good times in our families – a new baby, a new marriage, engagement, new houses, new jobs, our first anniversary; and we also remembered the trying times – the financial difficulty of the summer, breakups of friends, moving away. We then talked about the things we'd love for '09 to bring – a job to our friend who's been looking since he graduated law school with Z in May, a happy marriage to our friend Candace, a puppy for us, a great job for my sister when she graduates, etc. Those are some lofty hopes, to be sure, but if you can't hope on New Year's Eve, when can you?

I am not usually a resolution maker, but this year there are some specific things I'd like to get better about. I'm going to be healthier in '09, read more, bloom where I'm planted, make more friends here in Prattvegas, dwell less on the negative. What are your goals for 2009?

Even though NYE wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be (approximately 7 hours of driving and an allergy attack) and it caused me to spend more than half of my off-day in the car, I suppose it is a little exciting to think of the opportunities a new year brings. You can put the bad parts of '08 behind you and leave them in the past. Even though it sucks that the summer with no income really screwed up our finances and we still haven't recovered, we have devised a new financial plan for '09 and in '10 we are declaring war on the law school student loan.

It feels good to have a plan and know that anything's possible in the new year, even though I still think it's a silly holiday and doesn't in any way compare to Christmas, Easter, or other holidays with a purpose. I'm just saying.