SCOOTER!!!

Due to popular demand.....

His usual spot....

Look at that face!!!!

It was an exceptionally warm evening...

More lounging

Even MORE lounging....this time, with a friend

Alert!

And this is Miner....my sister's dog.....

Miss Me????

Have you missed me?!?!?!?

After being ENDLESSLY harassed by Blobby (OK, he sent me one email) about my lack of blogging, I thought it was about time I update you all on all the EXCITING things that have been happening since I last updated this blog....in June.  YIKES.

Let's see.....work has been super busy,  but very good.  It's so nice to not be filled with dread each day when I wake up.  Everyone here is so friendly, the work is interesting (and challenging) and even the commute (although long-ish) hasn't been bad!!  All in all, things are great.
And they had an ice cream truck here last Friday giving out free ice cream!!!

The summer is nearing an end (sad face) - but even though it was a pretty stressful one (our endless pool issues, travelling for work, summer illnesses, etc...) that is all behind me and I'm looking forward to the fall!

In my last post, I talked about our pool drama and I'm happy to say that it is all taken care of.  I'm not happy to say that it cost us a TON of money, but at least it's all done and now we have a brand spankin' new pool liner and patio.  Here are a couple of pictures of the end result:

Pretty fancy, huh?

In addition to all that pool work this summer, I traveled to Minnesota for a couple weeks at the end of July into August and had a FANTASTIC time.  I ended up meeting up with a bunch of friends that live in the area (who knew I knew so many people in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area?!?!?) and best of all, I got to meet fellow blogger CB!!!  We met up for dinner one night while I was there and had so much fun.  After dinner, he gave me a tour of the Minneapolis area, and in spite of me almost completely ruining the entire evening by 1. almost ordering a Miller Lite at dinner and 2.  referring to his  'Drum and Bugle Corps' as 'Band' - it was a PERFECT meeting.  ;-)

While I was in MN I worked a ton, but was able to see the sights including The Mall of America (which I loved) and I even made it to a Twins game.....AMAZING stadium.

All in all, it was a great (although crazy busy) trip and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the Twin Cities. 

After a very painful, irritating, and incredibly inconvenient bout of 'Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease' which BOTH Jim and Zachary had (poor guys!!) we are all in good health and doing well.  We just had a family photo shoot on Monday night - yes, our good friend Barrie is still at it :-) so I'll attach a couple of shots for your enjoyment.

Oh - and I 'celebrated' - OK, I missed.....my 4 year blog anniversary which was on Monday the 13th.  I know, I know.....my blogging has been lacking, but it's still here, and I still think of you all VERY often, so that has to count for something, right?!?!?!

Have a great day and I hope you're all well.   XOXO

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures......

Lists, lists, lists....

1. I'm writing this entry on my iPhone.
2. I miss you all somethin' terrible.
3. The new job is great.
4. The people here are happy.
5. The people here are friendly.
6. The people here chat with one another and have fun.
7. My commute is long, but it's not 'traffic-y' so I don't mind.
8. Jim is glad to have the 'old' John back.
9. I'm glad to have the 'old' John back.
10. Keep your 'old' comments to yourself.
11. Zachary is doing great since his surgery and is back to normal.
12. We are all set to have the pool re-lined as well as getting some other 'cosmetic' stuff done in the pool area.
13. Jim and Scooter can't wait to swim.
14. I split a second pair of pants at work last week.
15. My diet starts today.
16. Lists make blogging easy.
17. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as the pool area transformation is underway.
18. xoxo

When It's Time to Change...

The day that I never thought would arrive, has arrived.  :-)

Today is my last day at my current job.  When people ask me how long I've been with the company, it's kind of difficult to give a simple answer, because it's a complicated situation.  I generally say that I've been here just about 11 years, but then I have to add the qualifier that I've only been with my 'current' company for the past 5 years, but I was with the previous company for 6 years, before they were acquired by my current company.  Make sense?  It's been just about 11 years in total, but that technically split up between two companies.

That being said, it's been a long time since I've started a BRAND new job....and that will happen on Monday.  YIKES!  As you'd expect, I'm a little bit nervous, but mostly excited.  For the first time since 1996, I won't be working for a financial company, and that alone sends me through the roof.
There will be no talk of trade processing, no buys and sells to process, no variation margins, no trade extracts, no amortization, etc.and that makes me very happy.

I'll be sure you do my best to keep you all updated as to how things are going, you can be sure of that.

In the meantime, our little boy, Zachary underwent his second (and hopefully final) surgery last Wednesday and is doing great with his recuperation. 
Here are some photos:

Jim and Zachary hanging out before he went in for the surgery (Jim went downstairs with him, which explains why he's in scrubs)

One last photo before he went down to the O.R.

He was very sleepy/cuddly after surgery, and required a constant flow of oxygen 'mist' just to be safe.

Spending some time with Scooter at home after being discharged.  The 'braces' on his arms are to keep him from putting anything in his mouth, since that's where the surgery was....they're only temporary, and he doesn't mind wearing them. 

For the most part.  :-)

As I mentioned, Z is doing well with his recovery and aside from having a little bit of a cold (of course) he's just about back to normal.

In other news, Jim and I got a bit of bad news/shock of our lives when the pool company came to open our pool yesterday afternoon. 

Long story short:  They took off the pool cover, and the pool was empty.

SHIT. 

It seems that there's a leak in the liner, and we'll need to get a new one ASAP.  Of course, we don't have an extra $4,000 lying around (which is the estimated cost) so we're going to have to do some creative financial planning in order to take care of it.  Until then, we've got an eyesore of a pool that we have to keep under lock and key, since it's a very dangerous place right now.

Here's a picture of what we saw when it was opened, and the picture doesn't nearly capture what it really looks like.  It looks AWFUL and we feel like ultra white-trash having this mess in our backyard.

I look forward to the day (hopefully SOON) when I can post some "Look at our beautiful new pool!!" pictures.  :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on what's going on in my world.

Thank you again for all your kind words and support.

Also - to all my Boston readers, have a GREAT Pride weekend!!!!

xoxo

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!

Hey there everyone.....

As you can guess by the title of my post for today, there have been some exciting things happening with me lately.  While I don't have the time to get into all the details at the moment, the fact is, that I will be leaving my current position on June 8th and starting my new job on June 11th.
No rest for the weary, right?!?!

I have to thank each and every one of you for your encouraging words, helpful advice, and above all else, helping me to find the humor in everything, even when I thought there was little hope of my 'escape'.  You're all amazing....each and every one of you.  :-)

xoxo

The Sun is Back!

I'm happy to report that the sun is shining outside my office building as I type this.  While we were in DIRE need of rain, I'm thrilled that the sun is back, and is supposedly sticking around for a few days!

I managed to survive the rest of my day on Tuesday with my ripped slacks (awful word) and hopefully this weekend I can get out the sewing kit and make the necessary repairs.  The last thing I need is to be down a pair of pants.  I have specific outfits that I wear, and I'm in no mood to either shop for work clothes or try and come up with an appropriate alternative.  Lazy enough?  :-)

I must take a moment to wish my awesome husband a belated 40th birthday!  He 'joined the club' on May 3rd and I actually pulled off throwing him a surprise party last Saturday night!  He was indeed surprised and had a great time.  I'd be lying if I said it was easy to pull off, especially with all the stuff that's been going on for me where work is concerned, but I did it!!  Of course, I couldn't have done it without help from his family, so THANK YOU to all of them for everything they did. 
I'm very lucky to have such a great group of in-laws. 

Things at work are (dare I say it?) OK for now.  It's calmed down a bit and I've been managing to get through every day without having a breakdown or being filled with dread.  Don't get me wrong, I still want out - but I've been able to make it through the past couple of weeks without too much stress/anxiety/etc.....
Baby steps, right??

We have nothing planned for this weekend and I'm looking forward to some family time and hopefully doing something fun!  Since I'm not playing softball this year (did I mention that before??) I may try and visit my old team and watch a game or two.  It'll be nice to see everyone and if I take Zachary with me it'll give Jim a well-deserved break. 

I hope you all have a great weekend, and things are happy and sun-shiny in your corner of the world!!!

xoxo

Here are a couple of pictures from the party:

Zachary and I waiting for Jim to walk in the room

SURPRISE!!!

'Post-Surprise' Family Portrait

(my beard needs a trim, it makes my face look chubby)

Zachary hanging out with Cheryl and my Dad

Ripped

I just thought I'd let you all know that I'm at work and I just realized that I have a HUGE hole in the crotch of my pants.

I figured that my readers would appreciate it the most.

Happy Tuesday!