Steph's Life In Motion

Colgate VoxBox

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:24:00 +0000

I got my Colgate VoxBox in from Influenster! I am so excited to try everything out. I got a new whitening toothbrush, toothpaste and a few other goodies. Plus, coupons!

Happy birthday to me!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:55:00 +0000

Today is my 32nd birthday. I can hardly believe it! This year I didn't do anything special or really even celebrate. There is just too much going on right now. I had to drop Jason off at the airport this afternoon so he could fly to Detroit for job training. Poor baby was feeling sick so it was hard for me to see him go. I will fly out there on Friday, though, so we can spend the weekend together. We're going to go skiing for all of a day and a half. I know it's no Colorado, but it will still be fun!

So, here's my little indulgence of the day:

credit

Yep, I finished an entire pint of Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream myself. It's my favorite! So here I sit watching the end of Pretty In Pink on my birthday and I have no regrets. Having a quiet birthday has been a nice change this year.

Dallas was a no go

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Remember last time I wrote, I said that I was waiting on a plane? But it was delayed because of wind? And I'd gotten a "free" day at home? Yeah, that day. I never got on that flight. My boss and I decided to wait until morning to fly. The last I heard was that her husband was looking into flights for the morning. I never heard anything else until I texted at 9am the morning of the flight. She said to rest and that we would go later. Later came and went (in my book anyway) and I texted at 4:30 telling her that I was tired of waiting. So, long story short, I didn't go to Dallas. It's a shame because I was excited for another market trip. But, my weekend turned out wonderfully. I ended up going to Houston with Jason, my in-laws and brother-in-law's girlfriend. That was a mouthful. We went to visit and get some project car things done. Obviously, the boys did the project car work while we women went shopping! It turned out to be a fun, relaxing escape from my work. It was just the peace that I needed. I went back to work refreshed and mentally relaxed.

This weekend, I will be going to Kyle to help a friend move. I am so excited that she is moving so much closer to me!!! Hopefully, this beautiful weather will hold out one more day!

Windy Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Right now I should be on a plane to Dallas for work. Let me stop there. As of 6:30pm last night, I should have been on a plane at 8:40 this morning. Then my boss gave me the option to sleep in and smartly....I took it! We planned on flying out at about 1pm for market. However, the wind has decided otherwise. Most of the flights today have been canceled due to wind which is highly unusual for this area. I'm still waiting to see if we will leave tonight or tomorrow. So in essence, I've gotten a "free" day off! Hooray!

In other news, I've gotten back into the gym. After almost a 2 month hiatus, going back hurt. All of my favorite classes like BodyStep and BodyAttack are at times that are impossible to make. So, I made myself get on the elliptical and lift on my own, just like I did back in the day. Some of you may remember that. I found that I lost a lot of strength and endurance. It's going to be a rough road getting back, but I'm up for the challenge.

Pure Yummy Bliss!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Let me preface this post by letting it be known that I don't really care for almond butter. I love me some peanut butter, but almond butter is a bit too bland for my taste. Enter Maple Almond Butter.

Hello lover.....

photo credit

Oh my goodness. This stuff is da bomb. For reals. I may or may not have licked the food processor clean! Just sayin'. Make some for yourself and be amazed!

Maple Almond Butter from The Edible Perspective.

Resolution #3, broken!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:32:00 +0000

Only two days into 2011 and I have already royally broken a resolution. Damn you coworkers that bring yummy spice cake and cookies!

This has got to be a record. Can I call do-over?

2011 Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:53:00 +0000

After going over my resolutions from last year, I decided to form some new resolutions for 2011. This time around, I'm keeping things a bit simpler.

For my health:

Get myself back into the gym and get on a regular workout schedule again.
Plan out more healthy meals to cook.
Have a much reduced sugar intake - keep myself accountable through food journaling.

For my financial health:

Continue our monthly saving goals to gain back our old emergency fund.

For our home:

Finish the kitchen project.
Begin The Massive Living Room Project.

For fun:

Jason & I will go on one trip - whether short or long, far away or close - together.

I'm not sure how much simpler this is from last year's resolutions, but here they are. Here's hoping 2011 is WAY better than 2010!!!

2010 Resolution Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:52:00 +0000

I know I've been missing for about 4 months from this blog. I guess life caught up with me. The new job is still going great, but I am having a hard time balancing work, working out (which is pretty much non-existent at this point), cooking dinner and home life. I am going to make a greater effort to become better at these things in 2011. I thought I would go over last year's resolutions and see how I fared. I'll post new resolutions after this. Hopefully I still have some readers out there!!

These goals are simply for my own health and quality of life.

For my health:

Continue to work on my strength training. My personal goal is to do shoulder presses using 20lb dumbbells! I got to this point, but have lost all my strength. I quit working out completely about two months ago. I got too caught up in my new work schedule.
Work on my endurance through gym classes, cardio and running. Bonus: run a 5K.Make a conscious effort to reduce my sugar intake through sweets and processed foods. (Thank goodness the Christmas cookies are gone!) I did pretty good with the sugar for about half the year. I lost it all in the last part of this year. I tend to eat more sweets when I get stressed. No 5K for me, but I was good about the gym classes until I started this job. The times conflicted with my schedule so I have been lost as to what to do next.
Plant an organic summer vegetable garden again. We planted, but it was late in the summer. We didn't plan this one out as well as we should have.
Get a physical so I know my exact health statistics! Didn't do it!

The financial health goals are absolutely necessary and essential. These are more "musts" than goals.

For my financial health:

Jason & I must both get jobs Bingo! We nailed this one! I started at a temporary place in March, then found a permanent job in August. Jason started a permanent job in August, but it turned out to be a bad fit for him. We are thankful that it got us through a rough year, though. Luckily, he found a new place to work and will start his new job on January 3. We are both excited about this opportunity!
Once we are both employed, live off of Jason's salary. Put all of my earnings into our savings account to rebuild and start to pay down my student loans and mortgage. I'm paving the way to get those monkeys off my back! We have done surprisingly well with this one. While we are not living completely off of Jason's salary, we're close. We have a monthly goal to save and are doing it fairly well.
Continue to prioritize the things that we deem important enough to spend our hard-earned money on. No blowing money unless we deem that purchase important. We more than aced this one! We are misers when we need to be. Our year of unemployment opened up my eyes to all the unnecessary things in life. It really helped us distinguish between the wants and needs.

Getting to the home health & fun goals will completely depend on the financial goals. Provided they are met, we can continue down the line to those below.

For my home health: These were put off most of the year because we were unemployed.

The Massive Living Room Project will include: a ton of paint, the wood flooring we have already bought but needs installing, building a hearth for our fireplace, replacing the ugly tile with slate tile on our fireplace and hang up some darn pictures! Bonus = Buying more furniture. Didn't even come close to getting to this one done.
The Kitchen: paint, deep clean the tile. Bonus = painting the cabinets We started this one. We got the kitchen painted and will stain the grout on the floor next. I am still undecided on what color to paint the cabinets.
The Master Bedroom: paint and hang photographs Nope
Bonus: Formulating a plan for the Master Bath Nope
Extra Bonus: Attempting some landscaping Big nope!

For fun:

Plan - and go on - another ski trip! Not a chance
Go to a live concert that Jason & I really want to see (not including Texas artists since we've seen them a million times) Nope!
Visit our friends more often! We tried, but avoided any functions that involved spending money for obvious reasons.

I know that most of my resolutions were a bust, but I'm not going to feel bad about it. Jason & I had a rough year together financially and we were able to pull ourselves out of it without any negative repercussions. I still have my husband, my family and my home so I have much to be thankful for in 2010 and much to look forward to in 2011!

Dance!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Oh my gosh, I just saw this video on Dooce and just had to share! If this doesn't put you in a good mood, then nothing will! Also, just like Dooce, I would love to be born with a little rhythm. Enjoy!!!

By request, an update

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:28:00 +0000

Hello all!

I have totally lost track of this blog in the last week. My new job is going great so far. My new boss is absolutely wonderful and so easy to work with. This job is such a change from the stress I had before at my last position. Sure, there's a LOT to do and a LOT of things to catch up on, but it's not stressful in the same way. Going from commission to salary took quite a weight off of my shoulders. Now I know what I will make each month without freaking out about how much I am selling. This morning I will start my second week and.......I'm actually excited!

Happy Friday Peeps!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:07:00 +0000

I realize today is Friday the 13th, but I have no suspicions today! Today is the last Friday I'll ever work at my current job. Tomorrow is my last day EVER. You have no idea how ready I am. I would love to skip out on the last two days entirely, but I just feel too bad about it.

I know, I'm a wuss.

Ten on Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:03:00 +0000

Almost forgot! Here's Ten on Tuesday for y'all:

1. Do you have an innie or an outie?
Innie

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
Chocolate....mmmmm.....it's been a long time since I've had one.

3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
About once a week. I'm pretty low on clothes right now.

4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
I like them and should probably write more of them.

5. Do you like spicy food?
I LOVE spicy food!

6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
I have no idea. I take enough to make a good wad. I know I'm an overuser of toilet paper, but I'm pretty crazy about being and feeling clean.

7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
Yes, I made it to Junior Girl Scout. I didn't go to Cadettes because I decided that sports would be more fun.

8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative?
When it was for school, I likes spiral-bound, college-ruled notebooks. Now, I don't care what the rule it, but I still prefer spiral-bound.

9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
I really like to, but it's hard with my current job. I usually do try to pack snacks; usually a granola bar, fruit or almonds.

10. What is your favorite month? Why?
December, because I love all the hustle and bustle of Christmastime.

Doing better.....

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Now that Jason has completed his first week on the job and I start my new job in just a week, I have breathed a sigh of relief. On Saturday, Jason and I were cuddling and being snuggly and I something hit me: so much tension between us has been released. Although we love each other with all of our heart, financial troubles are still tough on a couple. For the past year, there was an unspoken tension between us. We were always on edge. This played out in our marriage as shortened tempers and continual stress. Neither of us could relax knowing that we were going through yet another month of no income and no job prospects. There were a few events that we argued about something insignificant, only to apologize later realizing that the argument was pointless and caused by stress. Even though our worries are far from gone, we both feel so much better. We can see an end in sight to our immediate financial issues. Later this month, as we figure out exactly how much each of us will bring home, we will work on a budget to save more money, pay off student loans quicker and give each of us a little fun money. After that point, I think we will both feel much, much better.

Ten on Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

It's time for 10 on Tuesday again!

1. What is your current favorite television show? Since it's the summer, my fave is The Closer. I've been following it since the first episode and I love it!
2. Apple juice or orange juice? Definitely apple
3. It’s Shark Week on Discover Channel. Do you watch? Why or why not? I don't watch mainly because I had no idea it was shark week. Now I choose not to watch it because I'm not interested.
4. What are the non-blog websites that you visit regularly? Some news site for Dear Abby, local news, Facebook
5. What is your favorite way to prepare green beans? Asparagus? Potatoes? Carrots? My favorite way is for someone else to prepare them! Ha! I love green bean casserole, I don't care much for asparagus, I like potatoes baked with a bit of butter and I like my carrots raw or in a soup.
6. What is your favorite flower? Roses and tulips. That's right, I picked two.
7. How do you feel about handkerchiefs? Nostalgic. I have a bag full of my great-grandma's handkerchiefs. Some of them are so beautiful. I should really figure out some way to display them.
8. If you could only shop at 3 stores for the rest of your life, what would they be? (You probably should include a grocery store.) HEB (because it's cheaper than Whole Foods), Nordstrom (it has everything) and Home Depot/Lowes (whatever is around). That way, I have food, clothes and tools and appliances.
9. If you could only use wine for one purpose for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To cook with or to drink? Drink....duh. What a dumb question. Who the hell would choose to COOK with wine rather than DRINK it?
10. What’s your bedtime? I try for 11, but don't get to bed most nights until 12.

More News

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:45:00 +0000

Remember how I told you that Jason had finally found a job? He starts on Monday and I am very excited for him. One, because it gets him out of the house. Two, because we get another paycheck. Hooray for more paychecks!

But wait.

There's more news.

I got a new job too. At a baby/children's store. This is one of those jobs that literally fell into my lap like it was meant to be. I was working at the store and trying to sell a woman an expensive handbag. Out of the blue, she asked me if I liked my job. I decided to be honest and told her that it was an okay job, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I said that "sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do" as the saying goes. She asked me what I wanted to do to which I replied "marketing" and she told me that she was looking to hire someone for a marketing position. I took her card and said I'd call her to follow up.

Now let me interject here. When I worked in outside sales a few years ago, I had employers constantly give me business cards and tell me to call them. They were always hiring. As you can imagine, by the time I called, they weren't as serious as they seemed to be. Having this past experience gave me very low expectations for this particular offer. Regardless, I made the phone call. She wasn't available. So, I emailed instead.

Bingo!

She invited me in for an interview. I looked up the company and got a little information. I really wasn't sure exactly what was expected as I didn't have a written job explanation. So, I went in cold turkey. Isn't that against what they teach in Interview 101? We got along wonderfully and I interviewed (very casually, I might add) for a little over 2 and a half hours. I'll be working in another retail establishment, but I'll be more in the back. I won't have to sell, there's no commission, and I have steady work hours. From what I gather, I'll be in charge of marketing, vendor/customer relations and various store operations. My position is being written essentially by the owner as we go. I'm the first salaried employee they've ever had on their team. I'm really excited about the opportunity! The best part?

I work 9:30 - 6:00 Monday through Friday and will probably work every other Saturday. On the weeks that I work on Saturday, I get a day off in the middle of the week. Not too bad, huh? The gig is 12 miles closer to my house, too. How could I say no? And to top it all off, when I accepted the job, the owner told me, "I feel like I've been waiting for you forever!" Isn't that the nicest thing anyone could say? I start August 16th and can't wait!

2 years down, the rest of our lives to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

This was the status I put on my Facebook. On Monday July 19, Jason & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. It's been one hell of a second year of marriage and we are so thankful to have made it through. Through lost jobs and financial difficulties, we have come through the year from hell just as close as ever. God may test us, but He has been good to us.

We decided to try out The Vineyards, which is a little restaurant not too far from our home. Since we are still in our "scrimp" mode, we didn't go crazy on the food and wine. We both had the Salmon Crema, which consisted of grilled salmon brushed with pesto atop a bed of linguine. It was wonderful. The salad we had beforehand was simply divine. They have a special olive oil dressing made with poblano peppers, feta cheese, cilantro and a few other things. I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it was one of the best dressings I have ever had! That's saying a lot because I typically don't like many dressings at all. After dinner, I had a glass of Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port and Jason had the 10 year. Mine was worth the extra $5 by far. The best part? We were overpoured! As we enjoyed our wine, our waitress encouraged us to walk the grounds. We walked down the stairs - carefully, I might add - and then under the rose-and-grapevine-covered walkway.

Check out the grapevines wrapping the rose stems:

We then took the opportunity to take an obligatory self-portrait:

Then we walked through some rosebushes and I tried to get a picture at night (not too successful):

At night, the spiders come out so we really had to watch out for webs in our face! On our short walk, we also saw two restaurant kitties (yes, they had food dishes) and a toad hiding from us:

As we headed back into the restaurant, our waitress caught us as the door and offered to take our picture for us outside. I thought that was so nice! So here are two of the pictures. Sidenote: Jason had already finished his wine, so she refilled it with the house wine so his glass wouldn't look empty!

When we went in to pay the bill, there was only one other couple left. Somehow, we started talking as we toured the rest of the building and it turns out that they were married exactly 2 years ago, too! And the husband's name was Jason! We were at the restaurant for a couple hours, but it didn't feel long at all. We really enjoyed taking our time and we weren't rushed at all. It was such a wonderful night for both of us. So again, happy anniversary to us (and to Jason & Lacey in Houston, TX!)!!

In other news......

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:32:00 +0000

I finally cut my hair. I looked back in my planner to see when my last appointment was, and it was in May 2009. Yes, that's right, it has been over a year since I cut my hair. I've always been lazy about getting haircuts because I just hate paying for them, yet I'm very picky about who touches my hair. One would think that cutting my super-fine, super-straight hair would be simple, but it's not. One mistake is very obvious, so I'm very careful of who cuts my hair. Anyway, I may be lazy about getting my haircut, but I'm not 14 months lazy. I couldn't justify spending money on something so trivial when Jason and I were saving and scrimping every bit of money we had. I felt so guilty getting this done that I almost talked myself out of it. But I digress. Several people I know go to Folawn's, so I decided to try them out. I paid $45 (non-gratuity salon) for a cut and style and I'm pretty happy. Thanks to Becca at Folawn's! Here's the before picture:

I know, I know. This looks like a Myspace self-portrait circa 2005. You should all know that this is the only place I am posting this picture. This will not show up on facebook, you have my word! Jason wasn't around so I had to do it myself. Surprisingly, taking self-portraits is harder than it seems. I cut off about 4 inches, but I forgot to take an after picture. So you get a group picture taken on the same day. This was a gathering of friends welcoming our Maryland friends back to Texas. This was taken just outside of Alamo Cafe.

Now that Jason has a job, maybe I won't feel so bad about getting it done again. :)

It's good to be a cat

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:55:00 +0000

One day I was doing laundry and cleaning up around the house. In my hurry, I put a pile of clean sheets on top of the dresser and went back into the bathroom to finish scrubbing. When I came out of the bathroom, ready to put my sheets on the bed, this is what I found:

This cat has never jumped on our dresser before, but I suppose that the sheets proved too enticing. Notice the look he gives me. He seems to be saying, "What? WHAT? Finders keepers, lady!"

Ten on Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:47:00 +0000

It's been awhile since I've done a 10 on Tuesday, so here goes!

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re spluging? I don't take coffee on an average day. Sometimes in the winter I'll calorie-splurge and get a caramel macchiato, but it's more for the sugar high than the caffeine.
2. What is your genre of books to read? I'll read just about anything. I have been into things that apply to my life lately, such as health books.
3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere? Somewhere near family, the coast and with lots of land and no neighbors.
4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked? Oh goodness. The 17-year-old me would have stressed about it because teenage me was not a public speaker. I don't have a clue what I would have spoken about. I couldn't tell you what 31-year-old me would choose.
5. What word describes you best? Perfectionist. I hate to fail and I am extremely hard on myself.
6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc) Jason starting his new job on Monday. Then, setting a vacation date.
7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations? For the most part, I avoid controversial topics because they always get heated and I get uncomfortable.
8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week? That depends on whether the extra day was also free. If so, I'll take the extra day as long as it's part of my weekend.
9. If you created a sports team; what would your colors and mascot be? Something ridiculous, like Pink and Blue Redfish.
10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach? Realistically, science. But I would love to also teach business.

Why hello blog world!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:55:00 +0000

Oh, where to begin? So much has happened since I last blogged. Let's start with the July 4th holiday, shall we?

July 4th happens to be my cousin's birthday. When her sisters were in elementary, she convinced them that the entire nation celebrated her birthday, therefore making her the most special girl in the United States. She denies it to this day, but her sisters uphold the story! Here is my cousin, Tiffany, with her birthday apple pie:

Seated next to Tiffany, to her right, is her son Zachary. His birthday is July 7th, so he got to blow out candles on homemade peach ice cream!

A family friend showed up unexpectedly and his birthday happened to also fall on July 4th. My family wasn't going to let him hang out without singing happy birthday, so he got the most ingenious "cake" ever! I can't remember his name (what? It was like 21 days ago!), but here he is blowing out the candles:

Isn't that the coolest summer birthday "cake" ever? It was perfect! We ended the night on top of the roof watching fireworks from all around the city. I forgot to take the camera up there.....oops!

Soooo.......

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:31:00 +0000

Jason got a job! He's been working on this company for weeks and finally got an offer. Words cannot express how relieved and excited we were upon receiving the offer letter. He starts August 2, giving him a few weeks to get some things done around the house. We are SO ready to get our life back!

:)

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:14:00 +0000

I bet all of you thought this was going to be a Father's Day update. Well, it's not. Yes, I called my Daddy and wished him a happy Daddy's Day. I promise I'm a good daughter. Most of the time.

Sorry for not updating this blog thingie I have here, but my life is just SO DARN EXCITING. It's tough trying to manage sleeping and working you know. Plus, I manage to get in a little gym time which takes up more time. Sometimes I even get to see friends! Hooray!

I actually have no excuse other than sheer laziness. There hasn't been a whole lot going on lately. My brother is here in town working on his Jeep with Jason. I think they are on Day 6 of putting in a lift. This doesn't include the entire night they spend working on it as well. They came home at 6 in the morning that time. Hopefully, they will be able to get the new Mud Terrain tires on tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll post all the pictures and accompanying story with it soon. I know ya'll are sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for this story!

Other than that, work has improved somewhat. It's still a struggle, but I guess all jobs are at times. The only thing that has really suffered is my cooking. Since I get home so late most of the time, I don't cook as much as I did before. I have to really plan to cook a meal in order to make it happen. And since Jason and Houston have been working on the Jeep all week, I haven't cooked a thing since they haven't been home at all. I'll try to find some new recipes to make and I'll post them if they are successful. I mean, it's not like I'd ever post something that didn't go perfectly.

Work Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:39:00 +0000

I haven't updated about my job since The Day That I Wanted To Hide, so here's what's happening in my world. Work is a constant battle of my emotions. Some days, I sell a lot and go home smiling. Other days, like today, I had so many returns that I went home feeling down and dejected. Today, and the last few days, have been just like the former. I am such a perfectionist at heart that I feel as if I must do everything well. If I don't do it to my standards which are usually ridiculously high, then I get very upset and feel like a failure. On top of that, working on commission can be very stressful. Knowing that selling just one or two more things can make a major change in my paycheck is hard for me. I stress so badly because I know that I'm the sole income provider right now and every little bit extra counts. I try not to think about it too much, but it's very hard not to do just that. But tomorrow is Saturday and that should be a good day!

In other work-related news, our department had a visit from our Regional Manager. My own manager had never met the RM since he was new, so I was a little nervous. But......he told my manager that he couldn't believe I had only been working there for three months. He was impressed by the amount of product knowledge I have already. That made me smile!

Also, I had a customer come in a few days ago that was looking for a small, inexpensive item. She told me that I was so nice the entire time I helped her. She couldn't believe that I could spend that much time on her even though she spent so little. She wanted to tell my manager that she was pleased with my service and even wrote a note to our Store Manager. Isn't that awesome? Those are hard to come by! I love customers that appreciate the service I give. :)

So even though I had a sub-par day today, I do have other things at work to be thankful for. I'll try to remember that the next time I have a yucky day.

Ode to a Shedding Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:31:00 +0000

I got this by email from my dad, but I could have written it myself to Cassius.

Ode to a Shedding Cat

I think that I shall never see

A cat that sheds as much as thee

Thy fur that sticks is all around

On chairs, on mats in little mounds

I sweep the floor, you shed some more

I wash the rug and you just shrug

You should give thanks I tolerate that

Or you would be a crew-cut cat.

-- Author Unknown

Yard Visitor

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:00:00 +0000

We have recently discovered that our yard isn't alone. It's not just the neighborhood cats and flying birds that like to hang out in our yard. Now we can also add cute, little fluffalicious bunny to the list (aka cottontail). He's been hopping around in our yard, nibbling our grass and just spreading his cuteness around. See how cute he is?

That picture was taken before we had done some major weeding. I saw him again today so I decided to go outside and get a few more pictures. He let me get 5 feet away from him before he scampered under the fence! Don't pay attention to the dead spot in my lawn.....just look at Mr. Cottontail:

While I was outside, I tried to play around with my digital macro setting. Be forewarned, I am NO photographer nor do I claim to be. These were the best of about 20 pictures I took outside.

This was of the bouganvilla in my front lawn. I was trying to get the little yellow flowers inside the bloom into focus, but I never could get them. The camera was trying to focus on stamens (I guess that's what they are?) in the center of the photo. The hard part about this macro setting is that you have to hold the camera really close to the object and the object must be something really small and intricate.

I liked the texture of this one. It was a piece of some ground cover in the front yard. I just held the camera up really close and was able to get the texture just right. Not too bad for my first time messing around with the setting.

This one isn't great, but I was trying to get the center in focus. I guess it's not too horrible.

I love our rosebush, so I had to capture the newest buds to appear.

This is the best photo I took in my oh-so-humble opinion. I took several pictures of this fly, but the wind kept blowing the stems making it hard to get anything to focus. This is the only photo where the fly wasn't blurry. I think my hands are a bit shaky as well. I don't think I have to tell you that these photos are completely raw and unedited.

I'd love to take some photography lessons and get a DSLR. I think it's a fun hobby that I could be good at, but I just don't have the money or time to invest in it right now. What do you guys think?