My awesome hubby was just down for the weekend in West Palm. We had a nice weekend going to the beach, playing with Levi, running some errands, watching movies, and just hanging out. The nice part is I'll be in Atlanta this weekend for his birthday :) I've got some special stuff planned (that I HOPE he likes) and a few presents too. Hopefully the week flies bye!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Love you babe!
My awesome hubby was just down for the weekend in West Palm. We had a nice weekend going to the beach, playing with Levi, running some errands, watching movies, and just hanging out. The nice part is I'll be in Atlanta this weekend for his birthday :) I've got some special stuff planned (that I HOPE he likes) and a few presents too. Hopefully the week flies bye!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
2 weeks ...
14 days till I fly to Atlanta and see my baby Safin (and Phil too)
14 days till I get my hair done & highlighted ... bye bye dark roots :)
14 days till a delicous birthday dinner at Stoney River
14 days till my hubby is a 26 year old man ... just kidding
Love you!ps: budget? what budget :)
And on a sooner note ... only 5 days till Phil sees Levi and I know that makes him smile :)
Decorating the "new room"
The flowers I got my mom for Easter ...
The new chair ...
The new chair ...
The new furniture ...
Our $9 pillows from Kohls :)
Jailbird ...
Levi is still a puppy and usually gets put in "doggy jail" at least once a day. I actually think he doesn't ever mind it because he loves his crate and will take a much needed nap when he goes in. This afternoon he was arrested for eating half of one of my mom's plants. Guess he felt the need for some greens. I snapped a few pictures and then busted him out of the slammer ...
Okay enough pictures now let me out :)What a day ...
What a Saturday! My day started out at 9:15 when I met my good friend Blair at our spot in PGA for a morning run. It's so much easier now that I am in West Palm to coordinate our runs when she is in town (instead of when we would both be in town). Even though I ran yesterday and actually a few times this week I asked if we could walk a lap which we did and then finish up with an additional lap ... I'm sure it all evened out and we were both able to catch our breath and chat. The hour we spend running, doing but kicks and high knees just FLIES bye. We never run out of things to talk about between our lives, our careers, our men, our family, and just general gossip. I'm so glad we've been able to keep in touch and stay friends all these years, "running with Blair" days just start my day off right!
Then my mom and I headed out to Stuart to check out some accessories. We ended up getting a 6 foot silk bamboo plant. Why we got it first and then went shopping I'm not sure, because we both got cut multiple times by the fake wood branches that had to sit on the console. We shopped and shopped till we dropped! We hit every store we wanted to get to, I got all the gifts on my list, we racked up the DEALS at Kohl's and found a good mall that I know I will venture back to one day. When we got home around three I set off to Costco and Publix. Costco was a mad house as usual and finally my last stop Publix. It was raining and instead of walking a 1/2 mile to the store I opted for the only open space ... a tight squeeze between two oversize cars who decided it would be cool to park either on or over the line. I admit you couldn't swing your door fully open but in no means did I completely block anyone in. I shopped for about 15 minutes and got back to my car only to find a note on it that read:
" I do not appreciate your parking so close to my car that I had to squeeze through to the drivers side, wiping off dirt and rain from both cars onto my clothes. I am not young and skinny as you apparently are. It was quite difficult for me at age 66 to do so. Please try to be more considerate int he future!"
I've never ever had a note on my car and this one I actually sat there and read a few times. I'm guessing it was a woman because no man I know would actually sit in there car and write a small novel and put it on someone's car. The funny thing about this note is the reason I had to "squeeze" in so tight was because of her lack of ability to park her big boat of a car. If she had parked straight and the woman to the opposite side of me had also parked in her spot, no one would of had the problem. The other funny thing about this note is she was nice enough to call me young and skinny, when really you don't have to be young to be skinny. This was also the 3rd person to call me skinny today ... so that makes me smile. I do feel bad that she got mad enough to write a note, and I must of only missed her by a few minutes. If I had seen her I would of apologized and she would of been on her way probably feeling less mad and without wasting a piece of her notepaper.
Interesting day ... and on a positive note I am officially done with phil's birthday presents :) I got him what he wanted and something else I know he will enjoy but probably didn't need. It was actually something I stumbled upon and wasn't even on the master "birthday list". So since I have a few good ideas on the list I'm just going to have to save them for christmas. No I have to wait 2 weeks to give them!! Then start thinking about the June birthday maddness ... nice.
Then my mom and I headed out to Stuart to check out some accessories. We ended up getting a 6 foot silk bamboo plant. Why we got it first and then went shopping I'm not sure, because we both got cut multiple times by the fake wood branches that had to sit on the console. We shopped and shopped till we dropped! We hit every store we wanted to get to, I got all the gifts on my list, we racked up the DEALS at Kohl's and found a good mall that I know I will venture back to one day. When we got home around three I set off to Costco and Publix. Costco was a mad house as usual and finally my last stop Publix. It was raining and instead of walking a 1/2 mile to the store I opted for the only open space ... a tight squeeze between two oversize cars who decided it would be cool to park either on or over the line. I admit you couldn't swing your door fully open but in no means did I completely block anyone in. I shopped for about 15 minutes and got back to my car only to find a note on it that read:
" I do not appreciate your parking so close to my car that I had to squeeze through to the drivers side, wiping off dirt and rain from both cars onto my clothes. I am not young and skinny as you apparently are. It was quite difficult for me at age 66 to do so. Please try to be more considerate int he future!"
I've never ever had a note on my car and this one I actually sat there and read a few times. I'm guessing it was a woman because no man I know would actually sit in there car and write a small novel and put it on someone's car. The funny thing about this note is the reason I had to "squeeze" in so tight was because of her lack of ability to park her big boat of a car. If she had parked straight and the woman to the opposite side of me had also parked in her spot, no one would of had the problem. The other funny thing about this note is she was nice enough to call me young and skinny, when really you don't have to be young to be skinny. This was also the 3rd person to call me skinny today ... so that makes me smile. I do feel bad that she got mad enough to write a note, and I must of only missed her by a few minutes. If I had seen her I would of apologized and she would of been on her way probably feeling less mad and without wasting a piece of her notepaper.
Interesting day ... and on a positive note I am officially done with phil's birthday presents :) I got him what he wanted and something else I know he will enjoy but probably didn't need. It was actually something I stumbled upon and wasn't even on the master "birthday list". So since I have a few good ideas on the list I'm just going to have to save them for christmas. No I have to wait 2 weeks to give them!! Then start thinking about the June birthday maddness ... nice.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Birthday Season ...
This week was the first day of spring, lovely ... warmer weather, beautiful flowers, the "oh my gosh summer's almost here" time. For me and my family the approach of spring/summer is birthday season. My mom, brother, and dad all have there birthdays within a span of 2 weeks! yes ... 2 weeks! Not only is it a lot of what do I get mom ... 7 days later now what do I get Pat ... 2 days later now what do I get dad? In the span of 2 weeks we all get tired of wrapping, eating cakes, pies, cookies, or whatever said birthday person requests. Then about 3-4 weeks later its Myyyyyyy Birthdayyyyyyy! I LOVE my birthday, next to christmas it is my 2nd favorite day of the year. Maybe when I am much much older I'll hate my birthday but for now I love it! I love cake presents, being with my family, and getting to pick out what I want for dinner :)
When I first met Phil I was stumped that he didn't go all out for birthdays nor did he enjoy them with the same GREAT enthusiam that I had. I counted today that we've actually been in each others lives for 8 birthdays. Although I can't remember if I wished him a happy birthday the first time we had met, since I was not at Gardner-webb yet. Nevertheless, I def. caught him the next year. In college Phil was pretty easy to shop for. He didn't shop for himself much, so I would go to the mall and find him a few collared shirts, a beer mug or a shot glass, something UGA, and maybe a picture of us. I think I gave him the same "type" of gifts for our entire college history. When we got out of college and went shopping together, I stopped getting him the polo shirts that he now bought for himself and started venturing out into bigger and better things. Every year I hear the same "i don't want anything for my birthday because I don't need anything". I get this same phrase (minus birthday add christmas) in December. And for the past 7 years I've tried to explain my belief on birthdays and christmas's and about wants not needs. Do you really need an xbox? or a recliner? Ok don't answer that! Anyways, I can usually squeeze one idea out of him, but then he usually goes back on it and says no don't get me that. I can't recall if it was last year or the year before but my gifts SUCKED. I ran to target on the way home from work (on his birthday) and picked up a filing cabinet, a cd, and a movie (that i wanted to watch). I wrapped it in the garage and brought it inside. I may have been more dissapointed than phil knowing I had supplied such a crappy array of gifts. A file cabinet? What was I thinking ... anyways I've now learned to be a little more prepared, as I can't make a decision to save my life so I always end up going back and forth. It's now the end of March, 2 weeks or so until Phil's birthday. He'll be here next weekend which gives me only this weekend to shop. I've been thinking about gifts for about 3 weeks. I made a list at work and when I think of something new I write it down and usually by the end of the day I've crossed it out. This is our first married birthday and I want to make it special. I tried to throw a surprise party but apparently April 5th is also a popular wedding date and basically 15 of our friends were all busy. So now we've got a nice dinner planned and if I can get my act together some nice presents to open.
At least I have a small break before the 2 weeks of birthday maddness begin in June. I already know what I am getting my mom, she's so easy :) Pat is also difficult because he has everything or he buys it for himself. And dad I have one little gift so far that I think I'm getting him. Living at home has opened my eyes to many possible gifts for my presents, which may be why phils present this year is particularly hard to determine what would be "the perfect gift".
On another note, another week down and the weekend should be fun. I'll try to take some pictures and post them. I'm too tired to even look at computers after work during the week and I'll have to make up for it on the weekends. The weather has been beautiful this week and I've got a 4 day work week next week which will be nice :) And on a side note there's been some talk about some international gdubb tennis alumni coming to visit this summer ... which would be incredibly fun. So here's hoping it all works out :)
When I first met Phil I was stumped that he didn't go all out for birthdays nor did he enjoy them with the same GREAT enthusiam that I had. I counted today that we've actually been in each others lives for 8 birthdays. Although I can't remember if I wished him a happy birthday the first time we had met, since I was not at Gardner-webb yet. Nevertheless, I def. caught him the next year. In college Phil was pretty easy to shop for. He didn't shop for himself much, so I would go to the mall and find him a few collared shirts, a beer mug or a shot glass, something UGA, and maybe a picture of us. I think I gave him the same "type" of gifts for our entire college history. When we got out of college and went shopping together, I stopped getting him the polo shirts that he now bought for himself and started venturing out into bigger and better things. Every year I hear the same "i don't want anything for my birthday because I don't need anything". I get this same phrase (minus birthday add christmas) in December. And for the past 7 years I've tried to explain my belief on birthdays and christmas's and about wants not needs. Do you really need an xbox? or a recliner? Ok don't answer that! Anyways, I can usually squeeze one idea out of him, but then he usually goes back on it and says no don't get me that. I can't recall if it was last year or the year before but my gifts SUCKED. I ran to target on the way home from work (on his birthday) and picked up a filing cabinet, a cd, and a movie (that i wanted to watch). I wrapped it in the garage and brought it inside. I may have been more dissapointed than phil knowing I had supplied such a crappy array of gifts. A file cabinet? What was I thinking ... anyways I've now learned to be a little more prepared, as I can't make a decision to save my life so I always end up going back and forth. It's now the end of March, 2 weeks or so until Phil's birthday. He'll be here next weekend which gives me only this weekend to shop. I've been thinking about gifts for about 3 weeks. I made a list at work and when I think of something new I write it down and usually by the end of the day I've crossed it out. This is our first married birthday and I want to make it special. I tried to throw a surprise party but apparently April 5th is also a popular wedding date and basically 15 of our friends were all busy. So now we've got a nice dinner planned and if I can get my act together some nice presents to open.
At least I have a small break before the 2 weeks of birthday maddness begin in June. I already know what I am getting my mom, she's so easy :) Pat is also difficult because he has everything or he buys it for himself. And dad I have one little gift so far that I think I'm getting him. Living at home has opened my eyes to many possible gifts for my presents, which may be why phils present this year is particularly hard to determine what would be "the perfect gift".
On another note, another week down and the weekend should be fun. I'll try to take some pictures and post them. I'm too tired to even look at computers after work during the week and I'll have to make up for it on the weekends. The weather has been beautiful this week and I've got a 4 day work week next week which will be nice :) And on a side note there's been some talk about some international gdubb tennis alumni coming to visit this summer ... which would be incredibly fun. So here's hoping it all works out :)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Life Updates ...
Even though all the people that read my blog basically know everything thats going on in my life I still like to post "life updates". Basically because keeping this blog has been like keeping a journal for me. So I can go back to posts and read what was on my mind at that moment in time. I used to keep a journal when I was in middle school and high school, and I used to pull it out and read sections of it when I'd come home from college and think wow what was I thinking and why on earth did I let that bother me/upset me. I haven't really done a life update on here in a while, basically the blog is filled with pictures of Levi, which are mainly for Phil since I know he misses him and its easier than emailing tons of pictures.
So much has happened already in 2008 ... its crazy to believe that its almost summer time already! In February, with the encouraging words of my husband I quit my job at the travel agency. As hard as it was to leave my co-workers who some had become good friends, I was excited to begin a new chapter in my life. I set off to Florida with Levi in tow to spend a month helping out my mom. Things started off good, although I didn't feel as if I was giving a ton of help. My mom is such a strong person, even with cancer she still wears me out ... her 24 year old daughter. After two weeks in Florida I decided to test the waters of the job market. Last time I quit a job it took me over 3 months to land a new one and although I liked the company, being a receptionist was not my dream job. I would check online here and there and since I didn't "have" to get a job right away I was being picky with my next career choice. I stumbled across a job ad on careerbuilder that mentioned "creative" and "marketing" several times. I thought I was 75% qualified for the position, even though it said "must have blah blah training" (which I didn't have) I still applied. In the past few years I've applied to a handful of jobs online and never heard anything back from then. With this job, I sent the email and by the time I got home from taking Levi to the dog park I already had a message on my cell phone from a staffing company saying I was "perfect" for the job. I had never gotten that quick of a response before ever! I got a little excited but still didn't want to get my hopes up knowing nothing about the job. When I called the recruiter back she mentioned they (the client) had turned away several people but had one girl coming back for a 2nd interview and she would "try" to get me an interview before. The next day I got a call to come into the staffing company. I was prepared to take those silly computer tests about powerpoint and word (double checking I was not lying about my skills on my resume) I was pleasantly surprised when it was just a sit down interview. She told me she was trying to get me an interview the next day and gave me some pointers in case it did happen. Well that interview did happen and I went off to downtown West Palm to the 5th floor of a tall office building. It was beautiful inside and a part of me was nervous sitting there. But then as I waited I reminded myself to just BE myself, because when you have confidence I think it shows. I told myself that no matter how nice the place looked that I could work in an office like that and I was qualified for a high paying job like this. My interview went great, it lasted 2 hours but felt like 15 minutes. As I headed down the interview I felt really good about my chances. When I heard from the staffing lady she informed me that I had become the "front runner" and that my 2nd interview was just a formality but I would most likely be offered the job. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to get a job on my first try, in a super nice office, for a great company, and a really nice salary. I was offered the job and ended up starting the very next week. Even though I had only been gone from the working world for about 3 weeks, a full work week felt like an eternity. I enjoyed my new job but all of my responsibilities the first week were overwhelming. Since then it's been much much better. I've settled into my new position and I feel good about my progress, especially for all I've learned in just 3 weeks. I get along great with the people I work with and I enjoy having a marketing "team" atmosphere. This week we'll be traveling to Boston for a Marketing Retreat so that should be interesting too.
Life at home has also been really great. I get fed excellent meals as soon as I walk through the door, nice dog walks at night with my mom, great weather, fun weekends, doggy day care, clean sheets, HD-TV, and all my laundry clean all the time. I'm getting pretty spoiled :) but I'm really enjoying being back home with my mom and dad. I've missed them so much the last years and coming back "home" to Florida has me feeling healthier and happier. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my husband and the weekends we get to see each other always go by to fast. But I know we'll be in one place again soon, so for now I'm enjoying being a bit spoiled at Hotel DeJong :)
Levi is doing very good in the "pack". He's such a social dog I know he loves being around other dogs so much. I am glad we're going to be moving down here so that he'll have good buddies to play with. He's also really enjoyed the benefits of daylight savings time and trips to the dog park at night during the week. Two of my work friends who also frequent the dog park have labs so we will meet up during the week to let our dogs play. As you see from the pictures Levi always has a fun time. I miss Safin but I am glad Phil has him for a buddy around the house.
I can't believe March is almost over. Good TV shows come back next month. Dancing with the stars starts tomorrow (Go Monica). Pat will be a college graduate in a few short months and hopefully headed to grad school in the fall. Summer is almost here and with that the parade of birthdays begin. I hope to hit up some good concerts this year too (I'm sure I can drag my mom to a few:). There are a lot of country acts coming to the amphitheater and so much fun stuff to look forward to in the summer. Weekends at the beach, playing some tennis, swimming in the pool ... maybe a vacation to squeeze in too.
Until the next update ... and because this picture makes me giggle ...
So much has happened already in 2008 ... its crazy to believe that its almost summer time already! In February, with the encouraging words of my husband I quit my job at the travel agency. As hard as it was to leave my co-workers who some had become good friends, I was excited to begin a new chapter in my life. I set off to Florida with Levi in tow to spend a month helping out my mom. Things started off good, although I didn't feel as if I was giving a ton of help. My mom is such a strong person, even with cancer she still wears me out ... her 24 year old daughter. After two weeks in Florida I decided to test the waters of the job market. Last time I quit a job it took me over 3 months to land a new one and although I liked the company, being a receptionist was not my dream job. I would check online here and there and since I didn't "have" to get a job right away I was being picky with my next career choice. I stumbled across a job ad on careerbuilder that mentioned "creative" and "marketing" several times. I thought I was 75% qualified for the position, even though it said "must have blah blah training" (which I didn't have) I still applied. In the past few years I've applied to a handful of jobs online and never heard anything back from then. With this job, I sent the email and by the time I got home from taking Levi to the dog park I already had a message on my cell phone from a staffing company saying I was "perfect" for the job. I had never gotten that quick of a response before ever! I got a little excited but still didn't want to get my hopes up knowing nothing about the job. When I called the recruiter back she mentioned they (the client) had turned away several people but had one girl coming back for a 2nd interview and she would "try" to get me an interview before. The next day I got a call to come into the staffing company. I was prepared to take those silly computer tests about powerpoint and word (double checking I was not lying about my skills on my resume) I was pleasantly surprised when it was just a sit down interview. She told me she was trying to get me an interview the next day and gave me some pointers in case it did happen. Well that interview did happen and I went off to downtown West Palm to the 5th floor of a tall office building. It was beautiful inside and a part of me was nervous sitting there. But then as I waited I reminded myself to just BE myself, because when you have confidence I think it shows. I told myself that no matter how nice the place looked that I could work in an office like that and I was qualified for a high paying job like this. My interview went great, it lasted 2 hours but felt like 15 minutes. As I headed down the interview I felt really good about my chances. When I heard from the staffing lady she informed me that I had become the "front runner" and that my 2nd interview was just a formality but I would most likely be offered the job. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to get a job on my first try, in a super nice office, for a great company, and a really nice salary. I was offered the job and ended up starting the very next week. Even though I had only been gone from the working world for about 3 weeks, a full work week felt like an eternity. I enjoyed my new job but all of my responsibilities the first week were overwhelming. Since then it's been much much better. I've settled into my new position and I feel good about my progress, especially for all I've learned in just 3 weeks. I get along great with the people I work with and I enjoy having a marketing "team" atmosphere. This week we'll be traveling to Boston for a Marketing Retreat so that should be interesting too.
Life at home has also been really great. I get fed excellent meals as soon as I walk through the door, nice dog walks at night with my mom, great weather, fun weekends, doggy day care, clean sheets, HD-TV, and all my laundry clean all the time. I'm getting pretty spoiled :) but I'm really enjoying being back home with my mom and dad. I've missed them so much the last years and coming back "home" to Florida has me feeling healthier and happier. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my husband and the weekends we get to see each other always go by to fast. But I know we'll be in one place again soon, so for now I'm enjoying being a bit spoiled at Hotel DeJong :)
Levi is doing very good in the "pack". He's such a social dog I know he loves being around other dogs so much. I am glad we're going to be moving down here so that he'll have good buddies to play with. He's also really enjoyed the benefits of daylight savings time and trips to the dog park at night during the week. Two of my work friends who also frequent the dog park have labs so we will meet up during the week to let our dogs play. As you see from the pictures Levi always has a fun time. I miss Safin but I am glad Phil has him for a buddy around the house.
I can't believe March is almost over. Good TV shows come back next month. Dancing with the stars starts tomorrow (Go Monica). Pat will be a college graduate in a few short months and hopefully headed to grad school in the fall. Summer is almost here and with that the parade of birthdays begin. I hope to hit up some good concerts this year too (I'm sure I can drag my mom to a few:). There are a lot of country acts coming to the amphitheater and so much fun stuff to look forward to in the summer. Weekends at the beach, playing some tennis, swimming in the pool ... maybe a vacation to squeeze in too.
Until the next update ... and because this picture makes me giggle ...
Dog Park
Levi and I ventured to the dog park twice this week. The first night there were about 25 dogs there and I didn't bring my camera. These are from night #2 when he was a little more relaxed and there were less dogs, which I think was more fun. I met up with two friends from work who have labs. (the black one and the yellow one's below) Levi always has fun at the dog parks and unleashes a lot of that energy :) Here are some picts with his new buds ...
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