Saturday, November 10, 2012

Our Busy Day!

Last night after DH got home from work... he decided to take me out to dinner. We headed north for his favorite place, Red Robin, for burgers. It was a delicious idea and afterward, we hit Wegmans to do our weekly shopping. Some parts of the store were pretty picked over but we managed to find what we needed. It was great because there weren't too many people and no screaming, crying children to be heard.

We had errands to do today... like head up to Shickshinny to my favorite little gently used gift shop, The Holey Cow. I had several things on hold that I needed to pick up... one of which was a 7 foot tall bird house! They pictures of it posted on Facebook and I told Jeff that I wanted it. There were 3 other people that saw it after me... all wanting it. One even offered to pay more for it, but Carole said nope!

After that... we headed west, had some breakfast at our favorite place and then went to price band saws. From there, we went to the Wal*marts to do some shopping for the stuff we didn't get last night. We headed towards home and DH dropped me off at the nail salon while he went up the hill to the auto parts store to get everything he needed to do an oil change for his truck. We ended up being gone for most of the day and we both wanted nothing more than to put jammies on tonight and chill out in front of the tv.

So... we are all snug and cozy on this chilly November night. Punky has has her dinner and is sleeping at the other end of the sofa from me. DH is in his chair with his lap top and we have reruns of Cosby on... while we both putter around. This is living! And we love it!

Thanks for reading... stayed blessed!
~Suzanne

Friday, November 9, 2012

Tighter Than A Banjo String

Yeppers.... That would be my back! After only working 3 days this week, my back is so tight from the stress, I can barely move. Kinda makes it hard to enjoy my day off. I have lots I want to accomplish today, but I need to pace myself. It's all mostly housework, and some of it will have to wait for DH to get home this afternoon.

My stress level for work has gone through the roof as they realize I am not going to be there to handle all the little "ins and outs" of the location I cover. Some of my co-workers have finally realized just how much I do and the numbers I can get when it all goes according to plan.It's not easy to get down to below 7% on a location that does an average billable amount of 1.4 million a month and I am responsible for collecting what rolls over. It's daunting and if I'm gone for even 1 day... it can all fall apart. I will be sad to not be working, but I will not miss the stress of it.

We did get some wonderful news on the work front for DH... his plant goes on a 4 week layoff starting on Monday. He will not be included in that layoff. Yippee!!!! We prayed hard about that and have worked hard to save as much as we could in case that would happen. He even signed up for his unemployment benefits and got his wait-week applied because of Hurricane Sandy. But it looks like we won't be needing that! (Huge sigh of relief)

Oh... we did not get any snow with the latest N'or Easter... It got cold and I did see a couple of snow flakes on one of the mountain summits I go over on my way home from work... but that was all, I am hoping that the snow waits to start flying until I am safely home and off the roads for work. I have just 9 days of work left... and I can't wait.

Time to get busy and get on with my day. I need to do some cleaning (yuck) and grocery shopping. DH has requested my California Burgers for dinner tonight. (He's only been back on day shift about 2 weeks now so I'm having to get used to planning dinners again.)

Thanks for reading... have a blessed day!
~Suzanne

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Decision has been Made...

I am going to be working part-time for the next month! Working 3 days a week. Today is my first day home. I am excited about being back home. The stress of my job is what the issue has become. I have been told by my boss that I knew it would be that way when I signed on... but it has taken a great toll on my body and my DH has worried for awhile about that.

But the HUGE news about going part-time is that I will really be quitting on November 30th! It's a little scary. I wasn't planning on quitting so soon... but there is no "part-time" work in my division. It will be a little bit tight for a few months... but with not having to spend $60 a week in gas, breakfasts and lunches at about $75 a week and paying for dress-down days and gifts, and insurance on myself... I really wasn't making all that much money. I can find something with less stress, closer to home, making less money and still come out about the same!

But, first of everything... I am doing this for my health. I have already had two weeks of down time in my new calendar year. Once with a bout of cellulosis and once with a double whammy of back spasms and then tachycardia because I stopped breathing in my sleep. It's stress... and I have a boatload of it at work. I told my boss in the beginning, that I'd stay as long as it was fun, and it hasn't been fun in months. There is too much emphasis on the numbers and production. We have new supervisors that don't have much to do other than micromanage and I hate being micromanaged. I've been with my location 2 years and my clients are now my friends as well. I have my style of working and I do a ton of email work... but I am suppose to make calls.... so there is a problem with that, even in a digital age.

So... now it begins. I am looking forward to working with a new camera, adding more content to this little old blog. I am looking forward to finishing my cookbook. I went to the art store and purchased new supplies and I am hoping to do some art projects. So... that the news here at the cottage. Pumpkin and I are hanging out and planning our day. It's sunny but very cold... time to make some spaghetti sauce since it's election day. Don't forget to get out and vote!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne