Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This year I finally got to St. Patty's Day at grandma's!  It's been years since I've been able to go home for the high holy day and I've been waiting for it to fall on a Sunday for a few years, since that's a good day for me to party.  It was a really long day for me, but it was so much fun and totally worth it!

I had to work Saturday night, as usual, so it started with a 12-hour shift then a 3-hour drive.  I then stopped at my parents' house to say hi, take a shower, then headed to my best friend's baby's baptism.  It was Cayla's big day and she was so good and quiet, even.  After mass I chased Bella (her big sister) around the church for a little while so the parents had a chance to chat with family and friends without much worry for her.  They then were planning to go to brunch, but I went home to take a quick snooze instead.

Too soon it was time to go to grandma's. I had a few surprises to reveal when we got there.  My two little nieces had no idea I was coming in for this and I got to surprise them.  I even had birthday presents for both of them!  After being attacked at the door by Fifi, I also surprised Sam.  They loved their birthday presents!

Then it was time for chilling out and eating.  Grandma was worried that we wouldn't have enough desserts, so of course everyone brought desserts and she had too many desserts!  But the corned beef was amazing as always.  It was great to have a chance to hang out with my family for a change.  Even one of my cousins' best friend showed up and it turns out that he is a bagpiper with the Cleveland Fire Department Pipe and Drum Corps.  So we had our very own bagpipe entertainment!

Overall, it was a great time and I'm so glad I had a chance to go this year.

Poor skunks!

On the way home from work the other day I was listening to the Canadian country station. Since people can't keep from talking on the radio in the morning, I ended up listening to the news section.

There is actually a city (or maybe county, I wasn't listening too intently) that enacted a program to temporarily (so far) euthanize skunks. They are going to hire one person and contract with a local veterinarian to kill skunks.

My question is what did skunks ever do to harm people? Raccoons have a worse temper and porcupines are more dangerous when frightened. Seriously people, how bad are skunks?

They even had a sound clip of some guy who had been outside grilling when two skunks walked into his yard. He took the chance to walk into his house until they vacated his yard. By that point his steaks were burnt. Silly me, I blame the overdone steaks on the idiot who fled from skunks instead of continuing to grill in a non-threatening manner until the critters left.

Come on! What happened to live and let live? End rant... for now anyway.

Lucky Girl...

I've come to the realization that I'm one lucky girl.  So many of my friends have jobs that they simply tolerate, at best.  I have two jobs that I love!

At the airport, I get to hang with pilots and work with awesome people.  I even get some awesome photo models in the form of some gorgeous planes.  I love being in this environment and I never could have imagined having such an awesome career.

At the trucking company, I'm constantly learning so much.  I may work in dispatch, but I have responsibilities in so many places.  I am learning about a bunch of different aspects of running a company.

I'm such a lucky girl, I just don't think many people actively appreciate what they have and I just wanted to share.

Organization started!

So today I finished assembling my $40 shelving unit from Office Max.  It's a really nice shelf setup and looks amazing.  I still have to wait for the wood glue to cure, so I haven't put much on it at all yet.  I used a different glue than they had provided, hence the cure time.

I'm hoping this will clear up my desk and the area near my desk.  I'll be using recipe boxes for my postcard stuff right now, but if I find something else, I'll switch it out.

Now I just have to update my corkboards for the new year and wait for glue to cure and I'll have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow!

Happy 2013!

Out with the old, in with the new! 

I'd like to admit that 2012 was a good year for me in the way of milestones.  Most notably, I paid off all of my credit cards!  That was my resolution at the beginning of the year, and I finally achieved it in December. 

This year will be more about getting my life and home in order.   Currently there are three people in my little apartment and it's getting crowded.  I'd love to be back to just Dale and I, but financially it makes more sense to have one more person to share the load.  Our lease is up in springtime and  we'll revisit this setup when that gets a little closer.  Until then, I have to try to take up as little space as possible.

Goals for this year include:
Clean and maintain my apartment.  (I don't ever want to be embarassed about having people over anymore)
Save up for a down payment on a house
Lose weight and live healthier (Isn't that on everyone's list in January?)

And the important part... How do I plan to go about this?
FlyLady for the apartment.  They go by "baby steps" so you're never behind.  FlyLady focuses on small goals and developing good habits.  My mom has used this and it has worked very well for her.  I just have to get better at managing my time and motivating myself.

For saving, I won't be touching my commission checks, and my paychecks from the trucking company will be going directly into an account that I don't see.  It is a credit union and earns a decent interest rate, so it'll be multiplying itself as well.

As for losing weight and living healthier, I have a FitBit pedometer and scale that automatically synch to my online account.  I can also use their app to track what I eat, and any extra activities I do outside of walking.

Thankful

Well, it's Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for this year.  It's been so busy, but I'm so happy with where I am in this world.  So much has been happening and I've been constantly busy.

I'm thankful that I have even one job, and it's a bonus that I have more than one.  And my main job is even one that I love!   This year I have been able to keep a roof over my head, nearly finish off my credit card debt and even save a little up for a house!  

I'm thankful for my family and friends, even though they often feel too far away.  That simply makes me appreciate them all that much more when I do actually get to see them.  It even looks like I'll be able to see a friend of mine who's in the Navy this year.  He's now stationed in Japan, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see him this year.

I'm thankful for my awesome boyfriend who does so much that makes me happy.  Often it is a bunch of little things, but it doesn't take much to make someone's day!  He even made a whole fifteen pound turkey for Thanksgiving along with stuffing and mashed potatoes!  And he just did that because he wanted to try it.  And he did almost all of this while I slept.

I hope everyone realizes what they have this year.  What are you thankful for?

The start of trouble...

I just signed up for Pinterest!

I already have a bunch of recipes to try.  I've been trying to cook more at home to save some money.  So... Wish me luck!  I'll keep you updated.

Drive home with Zen...

This morning when I left work, I took the long way to the time clock and wandered out onto the ramp.  I love seeing my planes at rest on the weekends and it was still nice out.  After stepping outside I noticed the sliver of a moon and a bright star right next to it.  That just made me smile.  Then I walked out to my car and saw a ton of stars in the sky.  I rarely get to see stars anymore, so it is a rare treat.

When I saw those gorgeous stars, and the tail of one of the planes, I just thought of how strange life can be.  If you had showed me that five years ago and told me that it was my life, I wouldn't have believed you.  At that point in my life, I was working my tail off at AutoZone after finally having made it to a management position.  I was barely scraping by, but, as usual, I had hope that I would pull out of it soon.

In the last five years, I've gone to school and graduated, gotten my FAA Dispatch License, gotten a job dispatching airplanes all over North America, found a place that feels like a decent home, and even gone on a cruise!  It's been one hell of a ride, but I wouldn't trade any of it.  I know that I've worked very hard to get to where I am and I'm still working hard to get ready for whatever is lurking around the corner.

So these are the zen thoughts that come to my mind on an early Sunday drive home while watching a beautiful sunrise and looking forward to snuggling my boyfriend.  Thanks for tuning in!

Big news!

So, as usual, I've been keeping really busy with work.  But last week, I got a very promising e-mail...

See, I'd applied for a position as a part-time trucking dispatcher at a nearby company.  It's actually closer to my house than the AutoZone at which I usually work.  Well, I applied months ago and even got an interview!  Sadly, my availability is quite restricted due to my shifts at the airport.  But the interview had even said that he was very impressed with me and would like to work something out.

Well, work something out, he did.  Tomorrow morning, I start training as an on-call dispatcher!  It's very hard for me not to say anything at either job, because I want a solid confirmation, before I tell anyone.  It would hopefully be the end of my stint at AutoZone, but I also don't want the airline to get the wrong idea, and think that I don't love them.  

With the cruise coming up, and Dale still working hard in school, this is a very exciting opportunity.  It would hopefully be a bit more money than the Zone, but I would also be learning a whole new industry.  Lately, I've been looking at taking some classes because I feel the need to always be learning something.  It looks like I don't have to look any more! 

Now, I have to find a "business casual" wardrobe.  I have a few pairs of khaki pants (thanks, Stacy!) and some nice shirts, but I can only hope that I can pass as a professional.  I can't wait to tell Dale's mom in person when she gets back into town.  I'm hoping she would be able to help me spiff up my wardrobe!  Any suggestions?

Sometimes, the logical decision stinks.

With Dale in school, finances have been tight. I expected it, but that doesn't make it much easier. We also have a friend who is struggling financially, Sean. Well, Sean's lease is expiring soon. He has been looking for a roommate to move in with him where he is for a little while, to no avail. So, all of us got together and decided that it would be best, financially, for Sean to move in with Dale and I.

I've really gotten used to being on my own (well, with Dale) and having a roommate again wasn't what I was hoping for.  I feel bad for not wanting to help a friend, but I've simply gotten used to feeling like my apartment was actually my home where I had "carte blanche" and had no real worries.

Now I'm worried about coming home to roommate-induced stress.  Yes, it would seem I'm stressing about stress.  Plus, now we have less than a month to empty the second bedroom, get the apartment all cleaned up and ready to combine two fully-furnished apartments.  Then we have to decide what to do with the rest of the leftover furniture.

Sorry, y'all.  Just needed to vent. I feel like a horrible person for avoiding this, but I feel like I'm giving up my home.