On the Road

I've been planning a big trek across North Carolina to visit family and friends and we were scheduled to head out tomorrow. Then, I had an unemployment workshop that I thought was scheduled for tomorrow, but turns out it was today and I completely missed it. So, I will be calling to find out how to reschedule or what I need to do rather than getting underway on our trip. Luckily, we did have an extra day built in. We'll be going to the lake first, then, hopefully, the schedule will remain:

Saturday - head out from lake and stop in Aiken to visit family for lunch. Head out and possibly stop at the Zoo in Columbia, SC or a museum in Florence, SC before heading to Wilmington, NC to meet Penelope and her family for the first time ever in person! I think it's a super first impression for us to invade their home for 3 days!

Sunday - meet up with Niki, who was gracious enough to come to Wilmington when I realized I'd plugged in ETown rather than ECity, which was a difference of 2.5-3 hours one-way!!

Monday - we're still cramping The Lo.Co. and having a blast, I'm sure.

Tuesday - head out for Raleigh, NC, possibly going to the Marble Museum before staying with cousin and her husband.

Wednesday - dinner with uncle and his wife.

Thursday - coming back through Charlotte to stay with another cousin, his wife and their 3 year old son; possibly going to the Zoo en route.

Friday - still in Charlotte.

Saturday - going to Children's Library or Theatre or a museum with cousin's fam.

Not sure if heading back Sat. night or Sun., but will stop at aunt and uncles in Anderson, SC on way home.

All of these stops break the trip up into about 2-3 chunks, which is what we are used to traveling to get to the lake and back, so should hopefully be manageable. I'm excited and hope this blunder isn't foreshadowing.

All that to say, I may be a little sparse in my posting and such over the next 10 days!!

PTO minus the 'paid' part

Last Friday, Emily & Samuel joined me running around in preparation for the Halloween Playdate we were hosting on Saturday. It was a big help to have someone with me and we ate lunch at Chili's, too! Then, we headed up to Purple Hands for a little birthday party for Wyatt. Greg came from work and Emily attended Dellaina's party, so she wanted to be sure to be there for Wyatt's as well. I relied on her camera once again, so I'll get the pictures up eventually. She's adjusting to being back at work this week, so I'll give her a break. Also, I just posted the pictures for the carnival that she sent me awhile ago. Dellaina even came over from her room, so it was a fun little celebration. Then, I loaded them both up and headed to the doctor! I really know how to follow up, don't I? Dellaina cried when we first left day care, but did really well once at the office. Wyatt did well, too. Then, we went by Publix and picked up supplies. Headed home, where Emily & Samuel were still waiting to help us bake cupcakes! I had to load Wyatt back up again and head back to the store, in the rain and cold because Dellaina's shoe was still in the buggy. We tried calling and they didn't see it, but thankfully, when I went back, I found it! I think the cupcakes turned out pretty cute. The icing didn't behave like I was expecting, so the ones on the bottom right were my first, practice ones! And the orange was much too hard to squeeze out to do much with it.

Saturday morning, Granny gets to the house not long after we all make it downstairs. We get breakfast and baths and I start setting things out. Greg blows off the driveway and starts setting up the garage. At 10:00, I'm getting nervous about the bouncer and call to find out the eta. I get the call returned with "I'm sorry, I'm running late. I'm on my way now. I had an event at my church that ran over, but I'll be there in 20 minutes." I balk and remind him the even starts in 20 minutes! I ask how long it takes to inflate once he does finally get here and he replies, "once I'm all set up, just 5 minutes" I cringe thinking, but don't actually ask, because I'm afraid of the answer, "how long does it take you to set up?!" Sure enough, the first arrivals are before the inflatable, but it really doesn't take long and worked out well for the kids to get to watch it inflate! And we did our spider bracelet crafts while we waited, so it was a good use of time. It was pretty chilly, so it was good to be in the shelter of the garage and once they started bouncing, I think that got the blood flowing and really helped out. We had borrowed tables from Purple Hands and that worked out awesome as well, for the kids to have a place set up for them. The pizza arrived about 11:30 and we stopped to eat, then there was more bouncing. People filtered in the whole time and it was a good little turn out.

Monkey in a cage!

clearly, there is an injury report taking place. There was a point where Dellaina was making laps and shot right out of the doorway, gliding over the landing and everything. It happened so fast and could have been a lot worse than her hand, but Granny snagged her just in time!




Samuel in his little scrubs! Emily was kind enough to let me borrow her scrubs so I could be [comfortable] in costume.

Afterwards, the family headed in to celebrate Wyatt's birthday. He got some really great things - and Dellaina had a blast playing with most of them! ;) Don't you just LOVE the little hat Morgan made for him? It's just super adorable. . like old man Fedora. To go with his OMBS (which I neglected to mention is still filling in on his 1 year update).










Then, we got cleaned up, got the kids loaded up and shipped off to G&G's. Greg & I took a little nap and then started getting ready for our night out on the town. The son of one of my dad's fraternity brothers got married in Australia a month ago. They were having a dinner and dancing (reception, essentially) for the US crowd that couldn't make the trip down under. My parents had rented hotel rooms within walking distance of the court house where the event was being held. It was nice for everyone to get together. Morgan did a great job getting the dancing started. Somehow she managed to get Greg out on the floor first and everyone followed suit! The lead singer of the band was something else. I think she was channeling her inner Beyonce. It was a lot of fun, though. The younger crowd changed and headed out to a bar after that party (again within walking distance!) where we hung out until nearly closing, playing pool, etc. It was a nice evening.











Unfortunately, it was a little rough on Greg waking up Sunday morning to meet up with Josh to head to the race track for the Nascar race. And my cell phone totally threw me for a loop, because it automatically set itself back an hour, even though it's not until this weekend. I hung out leisurely until nearly noon when Garris & I made our way to the Marta station (just down the block!) and took nearly and hour and a half to make it back to my car. Drove home to check on the dogs, got a shower, packed and headed to Athens to get the kids. Decided I didn't have to be anywhere, so we'd just stay the night!









Monday morning, my mom called to see if we'd left town yet. We were getting loaded up and she asked if we could stop by her office. She had been at a conference in New Orleans, so hadn't gotten to see Wyatt for his birthday, plus, I hadn't seen her new office space and it was right down the road, and again, where did I have to be?! So, we went over and it's a really nice set up! Then, I decided we had time and should go see Granny. She's always wanting to show her grandbabies off, but we never seem to make it into town in time. We got to sit with her in the room, but the timing didn't work out for her to be able to take us around. Dellaina was fascinated watching the big kids and sat and colored with them. Wyatt explored the room and all of the toys and chairs and markers and trash and anything he could get into. Then, we went over to Doug & Morgan's house to hang out for a little bit. It was fun! We stopped by Greg's work for kisses before taking them to day care! It was 2:00, but I knew I needed a couple of hours to clean the disaster area we'd abandoned. Plus, it's paid for and they should go while they still can. . .

so, all in all, I'm making use of my time. I'm still sending out resumes, going to (real) Career Fairs (that are a complete waste of time - 10 booths?! seriously!? Berry put on bigger shows than that!) writing cover letters, working connections, looking into some small projects I can help out with, etc.

Report from the trenches

It's such a roller coaster ride. I got my second form 'unfortunately, you won't be moving forward to the interview process' email tonight. Ugh, it's such a bubble buster to hear those words. I feel like I wasn't even given a chance! Two rejections with companies that I actually had an inside reference and recommendation! Now, I'm really flying blind and if they won't even give me a shot to come in and talk when they have someone vouching for me, who in the world is going to?! I have one more person helping me make a possible connection (which I was super excited about this afternoon, before the let down this evening), but the others, I'm having to win over all on my own - terrifying! Last night I sent out a resume and cover letter for a position and AFTER I hit send, I realize, as I'm closing out the web site, I misspelled the company name!!!!!(*&*&$^^&%%$%$@(()*!! So, I sent a new email owning up to the blunder. maybe it will make me stand out. and be laughed at and mocked and pitied. It was a really off day!

Eager Beaver

So, funny story. . .

I got an email earlier this week from CareerBuilder.com about a job fair here in Atlanta. So, last night, I printed out several copies of my resume, dug out an old fancy business notebook carrier thingy and this morning I dusted off my suits (literally! there was quite the layer of dust on the hanger, shoulders and collar!) put on makeup! and shuffled the kids out the door. I dropped them off at day care and headed down to the Galleria. I sit in my car gearing myself up. I go inside to ask the man at the desk where the career fair is located and he informs me. . .it's NEXT Wednesday. oops. At least I wasn't the only one! The two men in front of me and 3 women behind were all looking for the same event. One claimed the newspaper had it listed wrong. I clearly remember the 29th date now, but the way things were worded in the email it made it sound sooner. So, anyway, I drove back up to put in a couple of hours of work. And who knows. . maybe by next week I won't need to go back! ;)

Eight days a week

*Last Thursday Dellaina tried out the dance class that's offered at the day care. The dance teacher, Miss Julie, came up to me as I was picking up Wyatt and let me know Dellaina had tried it out and did really well and was so sweet and seemed to enjoy it. I was so excited she'd gotten to take the class, but it broke my heart because it costs extra each month (not to mention the leotards, tights, shoes, etc.) and I can't do it for her now (going on the list for bday and Christmas!). She's been watching the big girls dance since she was in Georgia's room, standing up in her crib! And they told me she had on a tutu and it was so cute! I thought I had a little bit of time because the brochures said age 3, but Miss Julie said since she was potty trained she'd take her. *sigh.

*Wednesday, I went and filed for unemployment. Along with LOTS of other people. It was a two hour process, but it's been highly recommended to me from several sources.

*Yesterday afternoon, Emily and Samuel came up to visit. We went for a walk with the dogs. Then, I went and picked up the kids. We braved Cici's Pizza for dinner. Wyatt enjoyed sitting in the high chair (he stayed turned around people-watching the whole time) eating and wrecking havoc and Dellaina stood in the booth, people and TV watching. We don't get out much. Even Uncle D came up straight from work and met us. Then, we went to the Halloween carnival at the day care. In costume. We took pictures on Emily's camera, so hopefully, she'll send me those soon to post.

*I got a call this morning from "former work" that a study had been approved. They were going shopping for over 280 products that would need imaging if I wanted to work some hours. It'll cut into my unemployment check, but, um, yes, please, thank you.

*Granny & Granpa came up this afternoon. I picked the kids up early and we hung out at the house until Greg got home. We got Boston Market (yuumm) for dinner and had a nice visit. Then, we packed and shipped the kids off with them for the weekend! We plan to attack the piles in the house and get things ready for the Halloween/birthday party next weekend. CANNOT believe it's [almost] been a year since Wyatt was born. He got his first present this week already! Thanks Pen and Company! It's such a fun BOY wooden play set. Although, Dellaina immediately laid claim to the airplane. (for as many days as you were early, I'm afraid N.Lo's might be late.)

(damn, I have been depressed, these are the first pictures I've taken in a week!)

Rejection

Got my first official rejection email that my background doesn't match what they are looking for today. I cried. Then, I wrote a new cover letter and applied somewhere else. *sigh.

Hibernation

With the state of the economy and the state of my official unemployment, I'm fighting a strong urge to just crawl in the bed, throw the covers over my head and hibernate. It was easier last week to put on a brave front and stay positive. This week, I'm officially unemployed, I've put myself out there some and I'm just. . waiting. But, I have to continue to search and reach out and filter and hope. For that next terrifying part. . hopeful it will come, but completely dreading it at the same time: interviews! I've only ever been on two real interviews - and I was hired in the first one. It was pretty sweet heading to my second interview with a job offer under my belt! I was sitting alone at the table in Johnny's Pizza where my two now former bosses had gone to the bathroom (so odd, right?! and obvious they were discussing me!) and a guy comes out of the bathroom and tells me "you got the job." It took me a minute to register what he was saying and then I didn't know if he was teasing me or being serious, so I nervously laugh. But, sure enough, they come back out and offer me the job. These are the stories I have, so at least they are good, right? Here's hoping I can add to my collection soon. . .

After the pink slip

[Due to the intense job search (more later), I'm just getting to this post. ]

I left the office, got in my car and called Greg. I tried to casually ask him if I could come by for a few minutes "for what?"

"to talk."

He knew to be outside waiting for me and I guess had a sense of what was going on, too, somehow. I drove around for a minute while I filled him in. He remained very calm, which surprised me and helped me. I was in complete panic, depressed, shock mode myself. Then, I called Emily on the way back to my house. Mom was there with Wyatt, so it was nice to have her immediate support. I was kind of numb and in shock, but looking for something to distract me. One of the first things I did was go call the phone company to reduce our plan down to the bare bones (which I'd been meaning to do for a while now anyway - we NEVER use our home phone, only get telemarketing calls and the phones don't even work for long if we tried) and called DirecTV to disconnect the extra receiver we've paying for for nearly a year, probably. Granted, we're only talking about $20/month here, but that's something when you're not making anything, right? I emailed Hollie and Marcy both called me immediately to check on me, which was comforting and emotional all over again at the same time! I didn't feel up to revealing the news to anyone else right away. We went and picked up Dellaina and then headed down towards Emily's house to go to the park.




Love this picture! I told her when I was taking it, she was going to like it when she saw it on the computer, because I bet her hair standing up would make her laugh.

a cool, modern see-saw.


Dellaina, refusing to have her picture taken!


This is the day your mama lost her livelihood - smile!

Emily, dad, and Samuel came out and we were there for a while, then headed back to Emily's house. We were going to avoid exposing little Samuel to Wyatt, but we kept them apart. Wyatt started to get fussy and I was feeling drained, so we went upstairs and took a little nap. Greg checked in a few times and said he was probably going to be late anyway, so do whatever I needed to do. I kept thinking we'd head back home, but we just kept staying. Then, Emily & Daniel ended up taking Dellaina & I out for Mexican and margaritas (obviously, not Dellaina) while mom and dad watched Wyatt and Samuel. It was nice to get out. We made it back home late and got the kids in bed. We decided not to have a knee-jerk reaction. We'd still go to Mountain Day the next morning and keep the kids in day care for now. See how the job search goes.

Saturday morning, we leisurely woke up and got ready. Apparently, we were too leisurely, because by the time we rode through the car wash and went by Greg's work to look for a charger for his phone, we didn't make it up to Berry until the Grand March had started (1:00) and had missed most of the picnic. There were still a lot of people on the mountain, but I only saw 3 that I actually knew and spoke to! Dellaina enjoyed jumping in the inflatables. They tossed out these clear beach balls with "The Berry Bubble" slogan on them, which was quite clever and creative, I thought. We used the term more negatively while in school, so it's amusing they are using it officially. Dellaina enjoyed playing with the ball and Ashley was kind enough to snap a few pictures and send them to me, since I only got my camera out as we were walking to the car to just document we'd been there.

"bye-bye!"

We headed over to our friend, Jon Allen's house to hang out and catch up. It's always a fun time, he's such a gracious host. It was nice to see old friends, and always meet new ones, drink and eat. Wyatt had a blast eating the ice.

They had all kinds of yummy snacky food, like shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms, lettuce wraps with broccoli and squash in salad dressing, mini sandwiches, sausage balls, chicken bites; I'm telling you, it's always an incredible time. We were there much longer than Greg anticipated (I knew better than to think we'd actually only stay for a couple of hours) and left around 11:00. We did have to turn around to go back to retrieve the all-important Berry Bubble Ball we'd left behind to prevent further meltdown, but then we were on the road again. Until we were pulling off of it, so Greg could regurgitate all of the wonderful food we'd consumed that evening. I bet that shrimp cocktail wasn't as yummy the second time. He promptly passed out and Dellaina chattered the whole way home. She even commented about Daddy being "a little sick." We got home after midnight.

Sunday, I got up with Wyatt to let Greg get more sleep. Then, when he and Dellaina got up, I laid back down with Wyatt for a little bit. Until, it was time to get ready for Caden's party. Dellaina & I went and had a good time with her little friends. I couldn't find my camera, though, when we were getting ready to leave, so I don't have any pictures. *sigh. We actually managed to get another nap in after the party, because even Wyatt was worn out and Dellaina had skipped hers to go to the party.

It was strange waking up Monday morning, taking the kids to day care and realizing I didn't have work to go to. I have spent the last few days in front of the computer, updating my resume, writing cover letters, making contacts and searching for jobs. It's amazing what a full time job, looking for a job is! I have had lots of helpful input in getting things looking sharp and I really appreciate the feedback and all of the outpouring of support. I have sent out 3 applications for exciting jobs with excellent companies that I have contacts in! I did receive notice this morning that one has already been filled. I have also distributed my resume to a few friends, just blindly to see what they might find and pass it on. I created a character cloud to substitute as a cover letter for those. I'm hopeful, but scared of the next step in the process: interviews! But, hopefully, I get to that point, right?! I'll keep you posted.

I think I'm going to take the kids and head to the lake tonight. Better enjoy the time off while I can, right?