I officially gave my notice!

A couple of weeks ago, I officially turned in my resignation notice. My boss was sad to lose me, but happy that I had found an opportunity elsewhere that will allow me to grow my career. Although I'd hoped to be able to transition to HR in my current company, the director made it pretty clear that he wanted no part of hiring me. So, after an exhaustive job search, I think I've found the right position. At least I hope so...

Initially, I will not be working in HR, as I hoped. This is a little deflating because that is what I went back to school to accomplish. However, from all accounts of the people I interviewed with, there is tremendous opportunity for professional development and growth within this new organization. I will be sad to leave a few people behind at my current job, but I am hopeful that this leap of faith will be prosperous and amazing.

The last couple of weeks has been stressful, to say the least. Between training and documenting processes of my current job and chasing down documentation to complete the background check for my new job, I am going cray cray. I just pray the next couple of weeks will settle down and let me soak everything in as I close one career chapter and open a brand new one.

Friday letter

In order to get out of my blogging slump and update this thing on what life has been like lately, I thought a Friday letter just might do the trick!

one
OUR AIR CONDITIONER IS FIXED!!!! Halleluyahhhhhh! It was a long and winding battle with the home warranty company to get this done - but now, we have a brand new unit and it is making our condo as cool as a cucumber. I am so relieved that, hopefully, the constant problems with our AC are a thing of the past!

two
I am back in contact with my mother. After she created a fake Facebook profile and reached out, I, for reasons unbeknownst to me, obliged and am trying my best to bury the hatchet. Because she is claiming to suffer from memory loss, it is really frustrating to try and resolve our issues when she selectively remembers some things and conveniently forgets all the bad things she's said and done. I've even seen her a couple of times. It. Was. Weird. I don't know where the heck this is going, but I'm doing my best to, once again, be the bigger person.

three
After an off and on job search, a boatload of interviews and a few missed opportunities, I think a new job just might be on the horizon. I went through three rounds of phone interviews for the most recent company and, as of yesterday, there is a verbal offer on the table. I am trying to negotiate the salary a bit, but everything else sounds great. After discussing it in depth with my husband, I am leaning toward accepting regardless of salary negotiation success, but more to come on this exciting opportunity!

four 
My husband had a successful interview a couple of weeks ago. He followed up yesterday and should be hearing about a 2nd round of interviews sometime next week. I am praying hard that this might be the one for him! Also, he has been busting a hump with his school work and getting As out the wazoo! I am SO proud of him :)

five
The hubs and I started logging our food with My Fitness Pal this week. It is amazing to realize how much sugar/sodium/fat/carbs are in food, particularly when it comes to eating out. Although we are not enjoying having to calorie count or watch every single thing we put in our mouths, it is holding us accountable and hopefully helping us work toward a healthier lifestyle.

six
It is a 3-day holiday weekend and I am so ready! Can't wait to drink wine, sleep and catch up on some major cleaning!

The Last...

I was just catching up on my blog reads and came across a cute mini-quiz. I thought it'd be fun to keep the blogging train moving without having to get too deep. It's Friday, I'm tired and, well, I just don't feel like rehashing all the emotions of yesterday. That will have to be for another day.

So - here it goes!

The Last...

Thing I ate: A cherry candy stick from Cracker Barrel. I got them yesterday on a late lunch with my hubby!

Thing I watched: It was probably a murder mystery show on ID channel. Although I was pretty deliriously tired last night, so I can't really remember!

Account I followed on Twitter: Sorry, I don't "tweet"!

Blog I visited: Life Unscripted (Shout out to my homegirl, Beandip!)

Activity I did: Is texting an activity? If not, and aside from work, probably playing "Cookie Jam"

Song I listened to: One and Only by Adele

Time I swore: Like 10 minutes ago... Pretty much all !@#@!@# day.

Product I used: Hand sanitizer. It's pink grapefruit, so it smells pretty good!

Book I read: I keep saying I am going to try to get into reading, but it hasn't happened yet.

Thing that frustrated me: My coworker. She's told the same flippin' story 32 times today... And being that she is so @#$#@^%$ loud, I've heard it every single time --- through my wall and closed door. Le sigh!

Time my husband shocked me: Yesterday, I think. He keeps me on my toes. I just never know what he is going to say or do -- but he keeps life interesting for sure :)

Happy Friday! Excited to celebrate my gal pal's birthday and then some R&R this weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!

Tired... And it's only Tuesday!

I feel like life has been a jumbled mess over the last few weeks. Perhaps, it's just because it has been so darn heat. Heat goes to my brain and turns it to complete mush! BUT, alas, our A/C is fixed for now and things are hopefully getting back to normal.

<pause>

Normal. Pshhh... You see how long that lasted! This week is craziness with stuff going on almost every night. That is SO unlike me. I like my quiet evenings chilling at home with my hubby. But, I like catching up with friends too (some more than others!) I just hate that they all fell on the same darn week! Dinner with a couple of friends tonight, bowling league tomorrow, celebrating Beandip's birthday on Fri night and then lunch with another group of girls on Sat. Makes me tired just thinking of all those places to be!

Another curveball to my week will be a Thursday afternoon visit to see my mother. She sent me a FB message a few weeks ago, from a fake profile, and when I responded, I let her know that she should either contact me as herself or not at all. A week or so passed and then I received another message on Saturday. For once, it seemed she heard me because this message was from her actual account. While I do not believe all of the health issues and memory loss she claims to have, I do think it's time to make peace about the situation, whatever that entails. Regardless of my head saying "What-ever!" and my heart saying "She's hurt me, why bother!?", there is something inside pushing me to just go. She may think it's all about her, but really, a big part of my compliance is for me. If, and that's a big IF, she is in bad health, there are some things that I need to say before something happens to her. With so many things left open, broken and unsaid with my father, I do not want the same thing to happen with my mother. So, reluctantly and fearfully, I will go. I only hope I do not leave the visit in worse condition that when I started.

Lord, it's hot... again...

I feel like I've written this post before... more than once... But the A/C in our condo is broken again. After a fun girls' night, my husband warned me that it was not working properly. I headed home and after toying with it for a bit, it was no use. I promptly called the warranty company the next morning, but wasn't confident in my chances of seeing a repairman before Monday.

I was surprised. The repairman came by Sun afternoon, but I can't say he delivered the best news. After identifying several issues, we talked about the options of what we could do - both to fix the current problem and to not have to go through this every single time it gets hot. He left without fixing anything or resolving the issue. 

On Monday, I called the warranty company to find out if replacement was even an option. By this time, the thing is broken - so the thought of even trying to sell and escape the blasted thing is no longer an option. As it turns out, the cost to totally replace the unit was in the thousands, even with the warranty company covering a big chunk. After much back and forth with the contractor, the warranty company and me, the final verdict is to replace the evaporator/coils. Even that is still almost $500 out of pocket, but it's worth the money if this nightmare HVAC can be fixed once and for all! 

The contractor feels confident this will fix our problem and we will not need to make follow-up calls in the foreseeable future. I cannot say I am convinced though I am hopeful that the days of 90 degrees in our condo are numbered. I am hoping for the best... Lord knows, I HATE to be HOT!! Just ask my poor husband! 

Girl's Night... And Magic Mike!

After a couple of plan changes and reschedules, Friday was finally girl's night. It was girl's night with one mission: Magic Mike! While I saw the first movie at the theater with a different group of girls, I knew this one was going to be even more fun. My hope was that the movie creators figured out where they went wrong in the first one (too much plot, not enough dancing) and the sequel would be bangin'.

We met at O'Charleys for a drink and some dinner before heading to the show. Oh... and the Walgreens to stock up on movie theater candy! (Right... because who wants to spend $5/box at the theater when they are 3 for $3 at the Walgreens!? Holla!!!)

We stocked up on Sno-Caps, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids and a few others. Sadly, we hardly ate any of it because we were A.) full from dinner and B.) WAY too engrossed in dancing men in the movie! 

So - back to the movie! It was much better than the first one... SO much better... First, there was no greasy Matthew McConaughey (as much as I typically like him, he was so gross in that 1st movie). Then, there was chocolate. Oh lordy, was there chocolate! You KNOW I love some chocolate men and I definitely got my fix! AND, #3, chunky girls were in the spotlight too. Typically in stripper dancer movies, or even real life shows like that, skinny hot chicks get all the attention while the plus sized girls are off in a corner alone, drowning in their beverages. Nu-uh, not this time :)

It was a fun night. Lots of laughing, naughty comments and girl fun. Hmmm... wonder if they'd be game to go see it a second time!?