Monday, January 25, 2010

Friend Makin' Monday ~ The Simple Woman's Daybook

It has been a LONG time since I participated in FFM, mainly because I can no longer access Blogger at work, which makes blogging and commenting next to impossible as my time in the evening is mainly taken up with garter orders, couple time with Nate, and play time with Daisy. But I decided to carve out a few minutes during the workday to do this little meme with the intentions of posting it when I get home from work. So here goes!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my {office} window... is the light blue cubicle wall of my sweet, sometimes annoying coworker. She’s a squealer and a loud talker, which tends to grate on me. But she always offers an ear when I need to vent and we have a pretty good working relationship.

I am thinking... of finally placing an order for some of the beautiful ribbon I’ve been drooling over for months. The higher expense will mean I have to raise my garter prices, but I think it will ultimately be worth it because the ribbon is leaps and bounds above what I have been using and will mean my garters will be higher quality. More about that later this week…

I am thankful... that I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and a job to go to every day. During these difficult economic times, I thank God for these things every day.

I am praying... for the people of Haiti, and for a strengthening of my relationship with Nate. I am anxious for us to take the next step in our relationship, but know that we are not quite ready for it yet. We decided last week to really focus on strengthening our relationship and working towards marriage, and I am praying that we will get there sometime this year.

I am reading... Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner and listening to... Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon {the fourth book in the Outlander series}


I am creating... Garters, garters, and more garters! I wouldn’t say it’s wedding season quite yet, but given the number of orders I’ve been getting lately, it must be right around the corner!

From the kitchen... Ah, if only I had more to share in this section. I generally avoid the kitchen at all costs, but am planning to tackle my favorite recipe, Chicken Giardino from the Olive Garden this week. The dish is no longer on the menu, but I was able to find the recipe on the restaurant’s website. I know that it was one of their healthier choices, so I’m excited to make it and figure out how many WW points are in each serving.



Around the house... I am really enjoying the Shark vacuum my mom got us for Christmas. Our entire house is hard-wood, and it’s been such a pain to keep clean. I HATE sweeping, and have found that the Shark is a nice substitute for a broom and dustpan. I love having clean floors!



One of my favorite things... This week, it’s having a full staff in our department. In addition to our boss leaving the company a few weeks ago, we’ve had two members of the department lose parents in the past week and a half. This has made for sad and stressful times for everyone ~ it’s hard to know that people you care about are hurting, and it’s a very stressful time to be covering for someone who is absent as this is our business time of the year. I have fallen behind in a lot of areas and am hoping to finally get caught up this week.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I’m planning to finally take down the Christmas decorations {yes, I know I’m horrible} and put up my new Valentine’s Day decorations; I’m also hoping to get caught up on garter orders and get a few new styles listed on Etsy.

Have a happy Monday!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Do You Shred?



Inspired by Kenz at All the Weigh {if you haven’t stopped by to visit her yet, you MUST do so now ~ she is a fabulous inspiration to any and all who are unhappy with their weight}, I decided to join many others in BlogLand and try out Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. I think there a quite a few of us out there “shredding” at the moment ~ Amber, JennyKate, Rhonda and ShortMama are just a handful that I am aware of.

I have to admit that I bought the 30 Day Shred DVD about three weeks ago {I found it at Fred Meyer for $9.99, and I believe it’s the same price at Amazon}, but only just started it this week. Today will be Day 3, and while I’m not entirely looking forward to it because I’m a little sore and tight from yesterday’s Shred, I don’t think it will be incredibly difficult to motivate myself to get my workout clothes on and let Jillian kick my butt for 20 minutes. I mean, c’mon, isn’t Jillian’s body motivation enough?!? :o)


My goal is to complete the program by the end of February. I don’t believe that the 30 days need to all be in a row in order to be completely effective ~ I think it’s good to give your body a day or two off to recover, and I know that if I try to make myself do the workout every day for 30 days, I’m setting myself up for failure. I don’t even think I’d make it a week! Five or six days in a row with a day off to rest sounds great to me.

Have you tried the 30 Day Shred? Thought about it? I’d love for you to join me ~ we can share our progress and successes!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Sadness & Celebration

After coming back from my last bloggy break, I was sure that I wouldn’t stay away for long again. Well, I called that one wrong. It’s been over six weeks since my last post! Craziness! I’m hoping to be more diligent about blogging regularly in the future because it is such a great outlet for expressing myself and my feelings, and because I have lots of new things to share with everyone! But before I get to that sharing, I need to share a few other things...

It has been a week of great sadness at my work. Our CFO and my boss, Lars, had his last day with the company last Friday. The official word is that he stepped down, but regardless of how it happened ~ whether it was his choice or someone else's ~ he's gone and we weren't given a chance to say goodbye.

Lars wasn’t just a great boss ~ he was also a great man. In my life, I have met few people who are as selfless and caring as he is. Several years ago, when I was dealing with legal issues with my ex, Lars not only accompanied me to a law office to talk to a lawyer, but he also paid my legal bills. Knowing how much strain I was under, he asked me every day without fail how I was doing and what my stress level was. He was always there to listen and offer advice; to this day, I don’t know if I could have gotten through that time without his support. I would venture to say that he had similar special relationships with each of my nine coworkers who worked under him ~ that’s just the type of person he is.

And now he’s gone. All of us in the department are grieving for our loss. All evidence of him is gone ~ his office has been ceremoniously cleaned out, his name and picture have been removed from our website, all the locks and key codes have been changed. We weren’t given time to mourn for him ~ the attitude has just been “Soldier On, and Don’t Look Back.” And I’m miserable about it. I feel so sad that I feel like I might burst. I can’t sleep without dreaming about the whole situation; I worry about how he is doing almost non~stop. I want to send him a note and let him know that while he may be gone from the company, he is not gone from the hearts of those who worked with him, but I’m not even sure how to put that into words.

THIS. JUST. SUCKS. I miss my boss. And I want him back.

On a happier note, Nate received a job offer last night! After nearly nine months of unemployment, this is truly a blessing. He will be working in a call center at Verizon {where my dad works ~ my dad was instrumental in getting Nate connected with the right people in order to get this job} as an independent contractor. It’s not his dream job by any means, but the pay is reasonable, he’ll be working hours similar to mine, and it’s less than seven blocks from our house. We are both very excited that he’ll be joining the workforce again within the next week or so, and I’m hopeful that we can finally start preparing more seriously for our future now that will be a two~income couple once again.

It's odd to be feeling sad and rejoiceful all at once, but I guess that's life!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!