Let me count the ways..

Today. It snowed. A lot. When I woke up there was no snow to be seen, but I was wise and trusted dear weatherman and thought "I'm not going to risk ending up in a snow bank.. again."

So I stayed home.

I'm not completely neglectful. I came home yesterday prepared with my work laptop and gear so I could work from home. And that my friends, is what I did. You see, we have this weather policy that if you can't come in due to weather, we have to work at home. It really is a catch 22. Snow days officially don't count as a way to stay home and do nothing. Although I don't think they really having blogging in mind either..

Today - I'm rocking both laptops. And when my phone rings I quickly scamper over to work laptop and work. And the rest of the time when there is nothing else to do, well I'm thankful for being in the comfort of my own apartment.

Ok reasons why I'm glad I stayed home..

1) Check the snow.

Grass is gone!

2) Candles - I think our agency frowns upon open flames. Not this work from home agency! Ahh sweet, sweet candle.

3) I have a helper! She may be a pest, but she sure is darn cute!

4) Move aside fashionistas, I've got a new look for you! ;)

5) My very own coffee pot - less than 10 ft away from me!

6) My work laptop was up and running this morning at 7:15! It's amazing how early I can get to work when all I have to do is.. get out of bed and turn on the computer! :) Thanks to the mandated 7.5 hour work day, I'll be done @ 2:45 today! Then I can officially enjoy my snow day and do something dangerous - like watch a movie!

the ick continues

Happy Monday! I survived day 1 at work feeling under the weather. It really is a somewhat troublesome thing when you realize staying home will help make you feel better more quickly and prevent the spread of nastiness, however my PTO bank is sadly low, low, lowwww. Lame on having a real job! Really though, the company is very generous with the amount of time off we get, I just have to work for it! I'm sure the is probably a sick policy and they'll let me leave, its just I don't fell bad enough to want to use it. Whatever. Call me hard working or call me a germ spreader! Either way, I plan to continue going to work! Don't worry though, I have the sneeze-tissue blow-hand sanitizer follow up down to a science. BTW, yesterday marked 2 months at the big girl job! *pats self on back* Thank you, Thank you!

So another fashion-y post - blogger Jill GG's Good Life (For Less) posted a few combination of outfits for a reader request (someone that wants easy outfits to wear, but still look fashionable - hello! who does this NOT speak to!?), and I love everything about this outfit! Oh, I have eyes of someone not on a social worker budget. Sigh! But really! How cute is that sweater, sweatery jacket thing, and those moccasins! LOVE!

Click on the link above to see her other pics and links for where to buy!

P.S. Has anyone been watching Private Practice lately? I just got caught up on Hulu yesterday, and oh my word! How intense was that last episode?? Disturbing!

Time to prepare for a fantastic evening in with soup, candles and cozy blankets - AND a new episode of 90210. Living the life! Hopefully a phone call from husband too! Bye bye!

cleaning up the toothpaste and whiskers

Good morning, readers!! This week has felt very.. tiring! Nothing was all that out of the ordinary, but I'm just tired! I really think the emotions of everything with last weekend are still reaching the surface. Work is going well and I am slowly working on MY OWN caseload! I did 5 house visits this week with MY clients! Hurray! Still have the documentation to face on Monday! Things really are picking up at work and I think it's good timing! The days certainly go by faster when I have real stuff to do and not just oh I want to look busy stuff to do!

Got together with a few high school girls on Thursday for movie night! We watched Julie & Julia - such a fun movie! Definitely inspired me to at least want to look at my cook books again. So far, haven't touched them, but I have big ambitions of getting back into cooking! lol. We will see how long that takes!

Yesterday I went with the mom-in-law to a bridal luncheon for Mike's best friend's fiance, Jenna! It was great to meet a few people and get even more excited for their wedding in 2 weeks! After a quick break the in laws and parents and I went out for Mexican!! This is the only Mexican restaurant so far that doesn't give me "huge blah Mexican stomach aches"! =success!

This morning I played hookie from church and had a skype coffee date with the husband! It. was. wonderful. I love him so much and it almost felt like normal to sit in our pjs and drink coffee together and catch up on life's happenings. He's doing well in Texas and we get to talk every day (well at least so far!) but reception is poor and ya never know when he's going to have free time to talk. Needless to say, getting to have good quality, "face to face" time this morning was just what I needed! I love that he can make me feel more human just by seeing his face. Love ya, hubs!

After the coffee and getting caught up on some blogs I was ready to clean! I started to tackle the nasty second bathroom that the cats have done unmentionable things to and clean up toothpaste spillage and those pesky whiskers that never seem to get all the way washed down the sink. I have much more cleaning ahead of me, but it's a start!

Headed to the parents house this afternoon for fun bonding shopping time with mom and brother while dad gets his mandolin playing on at a wedding in KY!

Happy Sunday!

Peaceful Easy Feeling

Hello!! I'm in such a blissfully calm state and it's wonderful! I have a fall candle lit and am making coffee and I'm still in my pjs at 9:00!! YES! Work is going great, but man do I miss my lazy mornings!!

There is a sale going on at Bath & Body Works (not sure for how long!) on their candles - 2 for $10 for the 4oz candles! I have been waiting on a candle sale for awhile!! Even though the candles are pretty tiny, it was a great deal that I couldn't pass up! I purchased Leaves and Autumn Apple! Yummy!!

Not your typical leaves scent - more of a blend of all the yummy fall smells! :)

Haven't used this one yet!

I have Leaves lit right now and it's a great blend of outside and cider and cinnamon! It's a cozy wrap me up in a blanket and snuggle with husband scent, if that's possible! The sticker on the bottom describes the scent as "golden nectar, juicy mandarin and red delicious apple blend with toasted cinnamon, mulled cider and freshly harvested berries" - that's a lot going on in one candle!! After burning it for a few hours this morning I've decided to use my 20% off coupon and go back and get a larger candle because I loooooove it and am afraid they'll discontinue the scent!

So work - made it through my first full week! This past Monday I was all pumped and ready to go, but by Friday I was like get me out of here! Seriously! I felt like I could cry a few times throughout the day, but I think anybody could feel that way after a 3 hour Medicaid training!! AHHHH! lol. We survive. I really am still in training full time - our binder is one of those honkin' 3 inch binders!! It's amazing how much information we have to learn! It's a lot of policy and procedure and documentation stuff, so it's all good information that I need to know, but yikes!! My brain is ready for a mental health break this weekend!

The brother and I are going to Kings Island today for P&G day!!! I haven't been in town or able to go for years! The park is closed to retired and current P&G workers and their family members and we usually get a good pile of free products!! Very excited!

Got caught up on my movie reviews and posted a new song to my "Listening" page! SO peaceful! Check it out! Happy weekend!

quick update!

'ello there! Day two of work = success! As I told my mom earlier, I at least don't feel like the bus hit me as hard today! Yesterday was waaaaaay overwhelming and info overload and today was so much better! I actually get to go on a home visit tomorrow! Not for my own client, but it will be nice to do some non-orienting stuff!

Mike got to come home Monday night and left this morning. It was so great to come home to him from work on my first day!! The sweetie that he is, he bought me be-a-utiful fall flowers that look lovely on our kitchen table! They are gorgeous shades of oranges and yellows! Love! And he took me out to dinner for thai, which provided yummy left overs for dinner tonight! I sure do love that man (and not just because he buys me flowers and thai! haha!)!!

I'll try to post more later this week, but wanted to direct your attention to my favorite wedding photographer's most recent post on her blog! The couple clearly has their own sense of style and I think it's pretty fun!!

1 week!

I start my first ever big girl job in 1 week!! Let the wild rumpus begin!!! ;) Nah, gonna keep it cool!! I'm hosting a family birthday / anniversary party for the in-laws tomorrow night so I'll have an excuse to get the apartment in pretty good shape which always helps my outlook! Wouldn't mind playing dress up later in the week to put together a few outfits and then will need to get lunch food to pack and yeah! the end! So excited to learn more about what to expect!! I have no clue how much orientation I will have to endure, but I can probably guarantee it will be a faster process than at the VA!

I had a great weekend in Kentucky visiting the husband! Proportionately I spent more time without him than with him (as he had to work all weekend), but it was worth it! I was talking to him the other day about how every now and then someone on facebook will have a status about how she has to be apart from her husband for the weekend and how she just doesn't know how she will ever deal with it... I'm looking forward to being in that situation in the future! Getting to spend the majority of my time with him and finding it strange when he has to go for the weekend. That feels like a looong way away, but mostly because I'm so sucked into the reality of the here and now. Anywho, something to look forward to! :)

A lot of people wonder what our future looks like! I do too, believe me! We really have no way of knowing. We've talked about when he is back to take that opportunity to move to a town / state of our own. We discussed the west coast and parts of Tennessee.. but that is so much up in the air! I would like to say that at some point, for at least a year or two, we'll move away, but that may not happen either. His career goals are still in the working / formulating stages, so a lot will depend on how that shapes up. One thing that we know we want to do is go on a second honeymoon! Not only is it fun to think about and eventually start to plan, but a getaway will be much needed after time apart.

I don't have any pictures from this weekend to share, so how about some of the cats! ;)

We buy her toys.... but she loves paper bags and twist ties!

The fivvy girl!

OK! That's it for now! Coffee cup is empty, so that must mean it's time for my butt to start moving!

Hello, job!!

Well readers, it is official!!! I got a call from HR this afternoon (mid yoga workout!) and I officially accepted the offer! Work starts Sept. 7! Sweet!!! As my mom said the other day when I got the offer, God is good! While I have been unemployed much longer than I would have ideally wished, it was nice to have the time to get the apartment set up, figure out my surroundings, and be flexible so I could have as much time with Mike as possible. The timing really is perfect. What a blessing!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I will be working with the Council On Aging (COA). I am really impressed with this organization and can't wait to start working for them! I will be a care manager in the Elderly Services Program (ESP). I am sure I will have much more to fill you in on once I start work, but for now, this is what I know / think I know about my NEW JOB!!! :)

The overall mission of the agency is to "enhance the lives of adults by assisting them to remain independent at home through a range of quality services." ESP serves individuals 65 and older. Unlike another similar program at the COA, future clients do not have to be Medicaid eligible and severely disabled to qualify. This will offer a little more flexibility, I am hoping. COA helps set up in-home care services including housekeeping, personal care, medical transportation and home-delivered meals. I will be the client's advocate and help to make sure that they receive all the proper care and services, answer any questions the client or their family has, and help with other case management related tasks.

During the interview I learned I may have somewhere close to 120 clients, but will not have frequent contact with the majority of them. The contact level will be determined by their level of care. So, yeah! I also like that ESP in particular tries to help individuals who may otherwise fall through the cracks. A lot of people do not qualify for Medicaid but still cannot afford to pay privately for in-home care, so this is where we step in! I love this aspect of it! This is definitely something that can be so frustrating and disheartening working in this field - you know people fall through the cracks!! I'm thankful that I will be able to reach out to individuals and help with this so they can get the care they need! Fabuloso! 

Thanks to family and friends for their support through this process! <3

Almost weekly ramblings?

Hello readers!! Boy was I kidding myself thinking I would be posting almost daily! Almost a week has gone by and I have much to blog about! I just heated up leftover morning coffee and put on some yummy, relaxing tunes and am settling in for a relaxing Sunday afternoon! But let's back up.

This past Wednesday was a confusing day. I attended a funeral for a girl that I went to church with when I was younger. She was two years younger than me and in the same school distract. Sadly, we learned that she committed suicide. This is such a devastating thing to sort through and I'm not even family, nor did I know her well. I remember that she had a rough time in high school and even got poisoned once by evil classmates in retaliation for turning them in for something. Thinking back on this horrible thing angers me! High school is such a rough time for so many people and emotions are just crazy! I can't help but wonder what effect this event had for her..

All of this reawakens my passion and dream for working with young women in high school and trying to help them sort through the mess and drama and emotions of high school. I feel like my future work passions go in many directions- wanting to work with the mentally ill, women/ young women, individuals with self-esteem / eating disorder concerns, veterans, older adults... I guess it is a good thing that I have so many interests! But seriously, I want to march my fancy MSW self into local high schools and educate (and mentally shake my finger at mean kids) about what is going on - on so many different levels. I once had someone tell me that if you want to work in the high schools/ or with that age group in a counseling capacity it is better to do it sooner rather than later as soon I'll lose my ability to relate? Not sure how valid that is, but for the time being I have a different career route set up.. more on that later!

Back to Wednesday being confusing. So the funeral was Wednesday morning/ afternoon and left me with feelings and emotions of anger, frustration, sadness, empathy, confusion.. etc. Wednesday night the husband came home!! The last time I saw him was July 25.. so over three weeks! How exciting!! Fortunately I had time after the funeral to do some last minute cleaning and pick up some boy food! Mike was home for two full days and left Saturday morning. Everything about our time together was just perfect! Visited with both sets of parents, date night, and just good quality us time.

Unfortunately we didn't get any good pictures of the two of us, but love this of my man!! <3

Thursday I had an interview with the local Council On Aging. It went really, really well, and am pleased to announce that they called the next day with a job offer!! I'm hoping to firm up some details tomorrow and make it official! So excited!! My start date is Sept. 7 which really is great timing. I will wait until everything is finalized to tell you more about it and the program and what I will be doing!!

I am so in the habit of labeling what I talk about on my blog with pictures... so to add to your reading pleasure.. the COA logo!! ;)

This morning I went to church and was blessed with hearing a great sermon! I love when preachers focus on a passage (this morning it was Hebrews 13:1-6) and break it down and makes application points. While the service at this church does not have the liturgy I am so familiar with, it is nice to go to a church with young, passionate people who gather to serve the Lord! Verse 5 and 6 particularly resonated with me "..be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" The preacher repeated a few times "He is with us", "He is sufficient". Good stuff!

OK I feel like this is getting super lengthy! Thanks for staying with me! I'll post a few more random thoughts I want to share within the next few days!