My new job is not a boring one by ANY stretch of the imagination that’s for sure.  I got slammed this morning with orders of manuals and packets for collegian chapters.  Since I’m not familiar with all of these documents as of yet, it was a bit overwhelming…but I think I handled it well.  At least that’s what I’ve been told.

However, I’m still getting used to the work environment here as it is a far cry from the construction environment that I’m accustomed to.  Working for a non-profit organization has it’s advantages…at least this one does.  I’ve never worked for one prior to this so I can’t speak on the behalf of other organizations, but this one…well, so far I’m impressed. 

Everyone at this organization has welcomed me w/ open arms, again…very different environment for me.  I work with mostly women (hello…sorority right?), but there isn’t the normal cattiness and backstabbing issues that usually come with that aspect.  Again, I think this is due to it being non-profit and not a part of “corporate america”.  The normal day-to-day tension that is usually found in an office is not present here.   Not to say that people don’t get frustrated with one another, no…that still occurs, but not to the extent that it would in a corporate office.

People thank me all the time for my help even when it’s the smallest thing or just part of my job.  It’s nice to hear that though.  They also tell me all the time how wonderful it is that I’m here and how good it is to have my expertise.  Again, a breathe of fresh air compared to what I’m used to. 

I think the best part of it all is that there are “real people” working here.  People that have personalities and a sense of humor…not mindless robots performing “the job”.  You can actually interact with people and not have to worry so much about office politics.

They have a lot of meetings here…which some people would mind, but I don’t b/c it just shows that communication is important to them.  I respect that…so I welcome the meetings.  In fact, I have a department meeting that I need to attend here in a moment.  We have one of these weekly and then a staff meeting once a month.  The one thing that surprised me about the staff meeting was that at the end they open the floor to everyone for announcements and recognitions.  I was amazed at how many times different people said that they wanted to thank me…although I certainly didn’t mind them stating that in front of the Exec. Director.   Props to me!

Ok…back to work for me…hope this post finds you doing well.

 My boys turn 9 years old today!! WOW…it’s hard to believe that they are 9.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Caleb & Jonah!!

Unfortunately I didn’t get the job over at the Reunions company.  However, I did get a job offer last week and am now working for a sorority!! Can you imagine?  Me working for a sorority?? Yup…it’s true I tell you.

I’ve accepted a position with Gamma Phi Beta as the Operations Assistant for their headquarters here in Centennial, CO.  The best part is that they are located only 6.5 miles from my home!  My commute is a whole 10 minutes!!   Very cool.

It’s a salaried position that puts me in charge of shipping/receiving, overseeing maintenance for the building/grounds, processing/distributing mail, printing/distribution of manuals, liasson for the 168 chapters across the U.S.   It’s a LOT of information to process let me tell you!  I started yesterday and already I’ve been completely overwhelmed with paperwork and information.  The people here are VERY nice though and have great personalities.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself working for a sorority or with a bunch of women, but I am and so far I’m enjoying it immensely.

The benefits package is wonderful for this position as well.  I started accruing time towards vacation (12 days/yr) and PTOs (personal time off – 12 days/yr) on my start date (combined total of 24 days/yr).  I can’t begin using any of it until I’ve been here 90 days, but the fact that will have already accrued some time by that point is awesome.   They also pay a portion toward each employee’s medical insurance every month…very cool.    I will also get all major holidays off along w/ a week at Christmas each year!

I think that I definitely picked the right position to accept.  I must say that I truly enjoy my short commute so far…and am looking forward to using some of my vacation/PTO in this upcoming year!

I must say that I’m sick of being sick.  I’ve been ill since the beginning of December with a stupid virus that just won’t go away.  I feel like I start to get better only to get worse again. Sucks eh?  Yeah…I think so too.  I woke up this morning only to learn that I’m now losing my voice for the second time in the past two months.  I wish it were something that I could just go to the doctor and get an RX for…but unfortunately they don’t give those out for viral infections and I don’t have an extra $25 to hand over for them to tell me this.  So here I am, trying to rest as much as possible while still taking care of the kids, household and searching for a new job. 

I had an interview today for an administration position at a company that plans high school reunions.  It sounds like an interesting position and the best part is that it’s only 2 miles from my house!  That would be very cool and I’d even be willing to take a bit less pay to work SO close to home.  I’d make less if I worked farther away for more money in the gas that I’d be using to get back and forth.  So yeah…I wouldn’t mind a small pay cut to work closer to home.  We’ll see how this one goes.  I should know something by the end of next week they said, but then again, they also stated that I’m “way overqualified” for the position.  Yup…story of my life over the past couple of years it seems.  So yeah…we’ll see.

I’m posting another pic for you all below.  This is the most recent pic that I have of me.  I’m going to put it side by side some older pics for comparison for you.

The first two have dates, the next was taken April 2007 then July 2007 and the last on 1/5/08. 

Ok…so Happy belated New Year and Valentine’s Day to you all.

I know…I’m a bit behind, but I haven’t really wanted to post much over the past couple of months.  The job that I posted about didn’t work out at all.   In fact, it lasted a whole 4 days.  Yeah…apparently they didn’t want a human…they wanted a robot w/ no personality or sense of humor…so I was definitely NOT the person they wanted at all.  So…3 days before Christmas I was handed a pink slip and sent home.  Merry Christmas right?

Right…well, it was OK I made it through the holidays and made the best of it all.  I figure that if they were going to be that way w/ me that I didn’t want to work for them anyway…so it was best that we parted company.  In the meantime, I haven’t had much going on in the way of employment.  Most companies that I interview w/ are afraid that I will become bored too easily b/c most positions that I’m applying for I’m extremely overqualified for.  Hey…I can’t help that…I’m just trying to find something stable and full-time w/ benefits that will bring enough income for us to survive off of.  Ya know?

Anyway, I hope that you’re all doing well and once again I apologize for my absense between posts…it appears that this is becoming a habit eh? Yeah…

I do have some pics for you all though…so hopefully that will redeem me a bit in your eyes.

Well…sorry that I haven’t updated you all on the status of the job situation…probably because it’s been a very painful process.  I didn’t get the job that I mentioned in my last post…nor did I get the next 6 jobs that I’d interviewed for.

I’ve been job searching for 4 months…that will exhaust anyone I may add and it certainly has exhausted me.  However, I finally did get an offer over a week ago and I start on the 17th (one week from tomorrow).  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that I’ve finally landed a new full-time position and I’m grateful for the opportunity, however…I’m a bit uncomfortable w/ the situation.  See, when I interviewed for this position my immediate feeling was that I was totally wrong for the job…so I didn’t think for a moment that I had a chance in hell at getting offered the position.  However, my new boss called me a few hours after the interview and wanted to know if I was OK and asked me if I was up for the challenge…I told him that I’m always up for a challenge, but when I spoke w/ the owner during the interview it seemed to me that she had a very specific person in mind for this position and it didn’t seem to me that I’d cut the mustard in her eyes.  He again asked me if I was up for the challenge…and then proceded to state that if I was that he knows that I can do this.  I was offered the position the next day.

The position I’m taking on is Fleet Administrator for Mile Hi Frozen Foods who is the main distributor for McDonald’s, Chipotle, Einstein Bagels, Boston Market, etc for Colorado and Utah.  I will be taking care of equipment operations which includes trucking permits, bills of lading, licensure, accounting etc.  I’ve been in DOT Compliance for 10 years now…but I’ve always dealt w/ the driver’s compliance…not the operations side of things.  This is why I’m feeling a bit uneasy about it…I don’t feel qualified for the position.  I have no experience in what I’m going to be taking on…I will be starting from scratch…which to be honest, is what I think my new boss wants.  That’s fine…I have no problem learning new things, actually I quite enjoy it, but I also like to walk into a new job w/ some confidence in my knowlege and skills…and I’m not able to do that here.  That makes me a bit uneasy…ya know?

Anyway, the other thing is that even though I’m going to be bringing home more money, it’s not as much as I’d been hoping for.  It’s my minimum requirement…and in saying that I kind of feel like a failure.  Sure…there will be a 90 day review and a raise along w/ a 6 mo. review and raise…but still, the fact that I wasn’t able to land the position under the terms of which I’d wanted makes me feel a bit well…like a failure.  You have to understand that the last full-time position I’d held I was making 10k more annually than I will be at this position…that’s a bit difficult to swallow for me.  I worked hard to get to where I was…and I will again, but it’s difficult to start over.

On a brighter note…I’m extremely excited about Christmas this year! I get ALL of my kids for Christmas this year…which hasn’t happened in 5 years now.  I’ve had them Christmas morning in years past, but then their dad would pick them up and take them that afternoon for his family get together and I wouldn’t see them for a few days.  Not this year though…nope, they are home where they belong!!  They are just as excited as I am let me tell you…to not have to leave on Christmas day and just stay home for the holidays…yeah, they are happy about that. 

I don’t have much to give them this year…but it doesn’t seem to matter much to them, they are so excited about being home w/ Jason & I this year and that just makes it all ok.  They each have a gift that they’ve asked for and we’ve had to skimp on gifts for one another, but as long as they have big smiles on their faces on Christmas morning…that makes everyone OK for me too.

The past year has been filled w/ many things for me…a rollercoaster of sorts.  I’m hoping this next year will be a little calmer.  Life happens when you make plans right?  yeah…always.

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season…and here’s to a new year.

This last week was a very hectic and busy week.  I knew it would be because I had Parent/Teacher Conferences to attend, but on top of that I had 3 interviews in 3 days right in a row!  Yes, good news…but it certainly made for a few late days.

My first interview was with a local high-end automotive dealership that needs an HR Assistant for their region.  I was contacted the next day to set up a 2nd interview for this position, which I will attend Monday afternoon.  It’s not a bad position at all, but the benefits aren’t worth much to speak of.  The best part about this position is the location of the dealership…it’s only about a mile or so from my house.

The next interview was with a nationwide car rental company to which I had to travel over 30miles one-way just to interview for.  This position is an administrative position at a local branch (closer than the corporate office).  However, when I arrived for my interview I was greeted by the HR Manager telling me that I would “have to wait a while” because she was “in the middle of a job fair”.  I looked at her and asked her why then did she schedule an interview with me for this time…to which she replied, “I didn’t”.  WTF?  I looked at her and said, “I’m sorry, but yes, you did.  You called me 2 days ago and specifically asked me to be here on this day at this time.”  She then said, “oh, well if I did I shouldn’t have because like I said, I’m in the middle of a job fair and you’re going to have to wait a while.” 

I was NOT impressed by this at all!   I waited for over 30 minutes (and would’ve only waited 15 more before leaving) before the General Mgr finally went into the HR Manager’s office and INSTRUCTED her to interview me right then after making me wait so long.  Needless to say, once I got into her office and she informed me that this position was only $10/hr and gave me the rest of the job description, I knew in that moment that this was a huge waste of time.  I was so overqualified for this position it wasn’t even funny!   So I thanked her for the opportunity to interview, wished her luck on finding the right candidate and proceeded to walk out of the building.

On my way home from that interview I rec’d a phone call from the Fleet Mgr for another company that I’d sent a resume into about 3 hrs prior.  I’d actually inquired about the HR Assist. position with this company, but once the HR Dept. noticed all of my DOT Compliance qualifications, they immediately gave my resume to Fleet.  Anyway, after speaking with the Feet Mgr and hearing him explain that he is in need for an assistant and asking if I’d be interested, he scheduled an interview for me for the next afternoon.   I went yesterday and spoke with him for over an hour.  He seems like a very nice man and has only been with the company for a few months himself.   The company is the product of 2 other companies that merged last year…so it’s still going through “growing pains” and developmental stages.  I’ve been in that position before when I worked for GSW and they were still a small company.

Anyway, he said that he’d let me know sometime this next week, but he also stated that I seem like the type of person who, when given a mission, does whatever is necessary to get it done.  Yup…that’s me alright.  He also stated that he can tell that I know what I’m doing and that I don’t need a great deal of directions. Yeah, I can take care of things on my own. LOL

So…at least I have a few prospective options here and the latter of the 3 would be the best I think.  It is an hourly position, BUT it’s the highest paying of the 3 and is still very close to home (6 miles) and it’s what I know best.  I think it would be fun to start this dept from scratch and build it up to where it should be.   I like doing that because then I can do it the right way the first time and not have to redo someone else’s idea of what it should’ve been.

Ok…I’m done ranting for now.  I’ll let you know how things turn out!

Hello??  Is anyone still looking at this site??  I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t considering I haven’t exactly been consistant in updating it this year.  Sorry about that.  I’ve been BEYOND busy…not a good excuse eh?  I mean, we’re all busy right?  Yeah, I figured that you’d agree w/ that.  Regardless, I thought that those who do still check in here might like an update on what’s been going on since my last update. 

Let’s see here…my last update was in July right after we’d arrived home from our trip to Dallas…yup, the trip that I was deeply upset about.  Yeah, it’s all coming back to me now.  Well since then Eric (my bff) and I made up and all is is well there I’m happy to report.  Oh he still knows that he royally screwed up while I was there and believe me, I won’t let him forget that!  Nope…I wouldn’t be a woman if I did! HA!

I’m still searching for a full-time position.  It hasn’t been easy to find ones that I’m really interested in as of late.  I’ve also had to swallow my pride and do something that I’ve been needing to take care of for about 15 years now…finish high school.  Yup, I’m happy to announce that I’m now a high school graduate.  No…not a GED…but an actual diploma!  Yeah, I’m pretty proud of that!  I told myself that I needed to graduate before my daughter…and so I finally took care of it!   Jason is very proud of me for getting it done…and he was right, I feel much better now.  I’m sure that it will help in finding a new job as well.  I’m mostly looking forward to going back to school now though.  I’m going to enroll in classes at Arapahoe Community College to get my phlebotomy certification! 

Oh…would you like to see what I look like now??  You would?!  Ok…well I’ll give you a few comparison shots.

          me @ over 300lbs – March 2006                  me in April 2007           me in July 2007 – 1 yr out

I have one more pic that I’m going to show you…but you’ll have to wait until I get a chance to scan it.  I know…the anticipation is killing you eh? LOL…yeah, I thought so.

Jason & I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary this last Monday.  In celebration of that we went to Manitou Springs and took the “lantern tour” through The Cave of The Winds.  It was so cool!  What a blast!  It was something that I could never have done a year or so ago.  I feel a sense of accomplishment in doing this!  Jason & I had our photo taken in the cave and I will post it for you soon…I promise.   It’s really a nice photo!

Besides, the photo from July doesn’t do me justice b/c I’ve lost a good 10lbs since then!   Yup…I’ve now lost 150lbs from my highest weight!!

Outside of all of that…the kids are all doing well.  Dora is a sophomore in high school and is on the Honor Roll! We are very proud of her b/c she has come a LONG way from just a couple of years ago.  Corin is in 4th grade this year and doing as expected…very well.   Caleb & Jonah are in 3rd grade this year and are both doing just fine.  Jonah seems to be doing much better academically than years past…but is still working on his behavioral issues (he has a hard time w/ personal boundaries).  Caleb is progressing very well and seems to be enjoying school very much…as he always has.

Jason is in his second year of teaching.  This year he is teaching just social studies (U.S. History & Geography) which means that he’s teaching both 7th & 8th grades. I don’t know how he does it!  It was enough to go through that age w/ Dora…I can’t imagine having over 100 of them a day!   He still struggles from time to time, but I try to help him as much as I can.  I grade and enter grades into the parent portal for him when I can.  However, it’s not always easy for me to do b/c I basically work 3 jobs.  I mean, I’m only paid for one…but outside of my JOB I have the kids to take care of and help him grade…so I don’t get much time to myself at all.  Can you say tired?? Uh yeah…just a LOT!

Well…that’s basically the update for now.  I’ll try to post more often and I’ll do my best to get the new pic posted soon.   Hope you are all well!

Yes, we returned home from our trip to Dallas safe and sound.  Although the trip wasn’t all that I had expected it to be.  It definitely had its ups and downs…and unfortunately ended on the down side of things. 

We drove through the night to get to Dallas leaving on Friday, June 29th.  It was very foggy once we entered the Texas state lines and remained that way for most of our travel through the state.  That made for a very slow moving drive for throughout most of the night…which I wasn’t anticipating.  It’s good that I had Dora w/ me though b/c Jason crashed pretty early on and stayed out for quite a while. 

We arrived in Dallas around Noon on Saturday and were very happy to be there…but I was so tired by that point that I was wide awake.  We met up w/ friends and hung out until we were able to check in to our hotel room for the night.  We were supposed to just stay w/ my bf Eric and his wife, but he was called out of town for business and wasn’t to arrive back home until Sunday evening…so we got a room for the first night there.

We wound up spending most of our time that week hanging out w/ Dora’s uncle and his family.  That was good though b/c we’ve been friends since high school and I’d missed hanging out w/ him.  However, I was disappointed that we weren’t able to spend more time w/ Eric while we were there.  He had to work a lot and other unforseen things occured while we were there that kept us from all being together.

Anyway, my birthday wasn’t exactly what we’d all expected either.  Adrian (Dora’s uncle) and Eric planned this huge party for my birthday and it was to be at a new sports bar that Adrian had been doing electrical work for.  However, the day before my birthday all of the employees walked out on the management of that establishment and it was shut down.  So…there went the birthday plans.  Adrian was VERY upset about it all and to be honest…I was a bit disappointed, but it wasn’t anyone’s fault and obviously couldn’t be helped by any of us.  So we decided to just go out to dinner and celebrate that way.  However, Eric called right before we left for dinner and said that he couldn’t go…he had things he had to get done for his wife.  I was very upset about that…and still am.

We all went w/o him though and had a very nice dinner and I did enjoy it…but still was hurt about my bf’s absense.  We hung the next evening w/ Eric though because his wife went out of town.  So we were able to hang out at the house and have fun.  There is a camcorder recording of that and it’s quite entertaining!

I didn’t get many pictures while I was there b/c I had a hard time getting us all together at the same time to get photos. That just sucks.

It rained almost the entire time we were there too.  Not just rain…but flooding!  Most of the area surrounding Dallas was flooded and it just rained non-stop with the exception of the last day that we were there.  Let’s just say that the mesquitos were out and I mean OUT all of the time.

I did get all of us together our last night there for one meal together…but it didn’t last long.  Eric & his wife decided to go to a movie after that leaving Jason & I to spend out last night alone packing.  I again was VERY upset by this and spent most of my night crying while packing.  Eric screwed up…he knows that and he is still apologizing for it.  However at the time I was not even wanting to stay long enough to say goodbye.  I contemplated leaving that night while they were gone…but decided against it as I needed some sleep before driving back home.  Jason was NOT happy to say the least. 

Anyway, we awoke the next morning around 4:30am and got ready to go.  I had rec’d a text message from Eric at around Midnight (after they got in from the movie) to call his cell phone to wake him up before we left.  So I did…but got no answer.  So I texted him and told him that we were leaving…and again, nothing.  I didn’t go knock on his door b/c I figured that if he purposely sent me a message asking me to wake him by calling that he didn’t want me waking up his wife by knocking on the door.  So…w/o being able to say goodbye…we left.

Again, I was very upset by all of this especially after what had happened the night before.  I was in tears most of the way home.  Jason did his best to console me and support me…but I was just very emotional about it all.  I was hurt by my closest and oldest friend…and I felt betrayed a bit by him choosing to see a movie over spending time w/ me on my last night there…and then not saying goodbye, well…that didn’t help any.

We’ve since talked and have worked things out for the most part…although I’m still not very happy with him.  He knows that he made some really poor choices and that he now has to make it up to me.  Jason still isn’t very happy with him though…but I don’t blame him.  It’s easier to forgive someone for hurting you, but when it comes to someone hurting the one you love most…well, that’s a different story.

So there you have it…that was our trip.  Not a whole lot of good stuff to tell you all about I’m afraid.  Let’s just say that I’m not traveling to Dallas again anytime soon.

Hello everyone!!  I’m sorry for my absence…but life happens when you make plans…ya know?  Anyway, things have been…well, up and down as usual.  Nothing in my life is ever easy…but hey, it would be boring if it were right?  So on I go…enduring the good w/ the bad and so on.  Jason and I are taking our oldest and making a road trip to Dallas this Friday for the next week.  We’ll be staying w/ my best friend there and having a great time.   I will be turning 32 as of next Monday (woohoo…not really, but hey…it IS my birthday right?). LOL

My friends are putting together some sort of birthday bash for me…not sure what to expect on that.  However, Jason says that I will like what they’ve planned…so I’m trusting his judgement on this considering I’m not to know what’s planned until that day.  I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Anyway…I don’t know much beyond that other than I’m very much so looking forward to relaxing for a few days and not worrying about other things in my life.  My bf has a pool at his house…so I plan on lounging in that for a while each day.  

For those of you wondering how I’m doing w/ my weightloss…well, I’m currently at 180lbs…which means that I’ve now lost over 130+lbs.   I’ve hit my first plateau…so I’m not losing much on the scale, however I now fit into a size 12!! That is really cool!!

I will have some up-to-date photos when I get back from this trip…I shall share at that time.

Until then…I wish you all well and I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July holiday and be safe!!