Friday, December 14, 2007 ~ OMG!! I got a job!!

I am beyond excited. I am writing this from work! That's right, I gots me a job! And not just any job. A real, grown up job!

I left the Home Depot back in September, because I was informed that I wasn't "allowed" to take a second weekend off in one month. Now the only reason I ever asked for a weekend off was usually because it was to spend time with the BeanSprout. This time I had requested time off for our usual weekend, plus time to spend with him for his birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They denied all three requests, telling me that I would have to pick the one I wanted more. Sorry, but you don't just tell a mom she can't see her kid. Especially since I see him so rarely as it is! So, I handed in my keys and walked out at the end of my shift.

I took a week or so for time to myself, and then actively started looking for a job. I submitted resume after resume. I filled out application after application. I managed to get a few interviews, late last month, but not a single job offer. Needless to say, I was getting very frustrated.

Fast forward to this Monday. chillas and I got home from a small shopping trip when his phone rang. It was a gal named Suzanne, and she was looking for me. Turns out she's from a job placement agency that I had applied to way back in the beginning of October. She wanted to know if I was still looking for work. I told her I was. She asked if I would be interested in a receptionist job with a company called Quest Software. Of course I was! So she gathered some basic information, and told me she was going to forward my resume to the HR, then call the person and discuss it with her, and she'd call me back.

So we sit around waiting for the phone to ring again. Half an hour later it does. Suzanne says to me the most beautiful words ever: "How would you like to start tomorrow?" Very calmly I said yes, but the second I was off the phone with her, I started jumping around the house, whooping and screaming like a mad woman.

So I wandered into this company Tuesday morning, nervous as all get out, and it turns out that I think I may have landed practically a dream job. I'm still in shock, even three days later. The gal who I replaced actually got promoted, so she spent her time training me for a couple of days. She said she was so impressed that I caught on so quickly. By the time the first day was over, I was already a whiz on the phones, and was mailing packages off to the main office. Yesterday she was so happy with me; she moved all of her stuff out, and into her new cube. Which means the desk/receptionist area is officially mine now! I've been spending my down time organizing things just the way I want them, and cleaning out junk that doesn't belong here anymore. New receptionist, new rules.

I have a work email address, access to here and my personal email, which is nice, and all the free coffee and fruit I could want!

The hours are perfect. Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. Which means I have every weekend off to spend with chillas, and no trouble getting time off to spend with the BeanSprout! I might even be able to see him more often now. The pay is good too. And after I work 520 hours with the temp company, I will have a chance to be hired on as a permanent employee. And with Susan's backup (she's the gal I replaced), I'm sure to get a good recommendation to be kept on. Even the main boss's admin likes me and says I'm doing great. Suzanne told me that on my first day, she got three different emails from people, telling them how great they thought I was. Talk about an ego boost!

This is such a huge weight off my shoulders. I can't even begin to express how happy I am about this. I couldn't have asked for a better job if I tried. And the really cool thing, chillas now works about a mile away from me, so we can car pool and get together for lunch from time to time.

I am over the moon about this!

I wanted to thank everyone who helped me with my resume, and the folks who've been sending me vibes and good wishes. I know in my heart that you guys made a difference. Thank you all so much. I love my "imaginary" friends.

Cookies and margaritas for everyone, on me!!!!111!!!

*jumps around the room, squealing and doing the Snoopy dance*

Saturday, November 17, 2007 ~ My therapist

My therapist, councler, whatever, is a pretty nice gal. However, she has this really annoying habit of tilting her head to the side and nodding. Not just while she's listening to me, but she continues to do it after I'm done talking. She just sits there, staring at me and bobbing her head, like she's not aware I'm done talking or something.

Today on icanhascheezburger.com I found a picture that seriously reminds me of her. All it would need would be glasses and rediculously high heels and it'd be her.

Thursday, November 01, 2007 ~ Finally, a wedding date!

My sweetie, chillas, and I have been engaged for almost a year now. We had originally set the date for September 8th of this year. Unfortunatly the place we had picked out, The Columbus Zoo, pulled a switcheroo on us, and informed us that they now had a $5000 minimum! We don't know enough people to have that kind of wedding. I guess I could have put an open invitation in a myspace bulliten or something. ;)

So...we think about this for awhile, and decide to have it on March 15th of 2008, since it's the weekend closest to our dating anniversary, St. Patrick's Day. I told my ex husband about the date, and he was agreeable at first to let my five year old son come down for the wedding. Then he suddenly has a snit fit, and decides that since it's not a regular scheduled visit for Nicholas, he can't come down! Jackass. I think he just didn't want us to have Nicholas for three weekends in a row, since we get Easter this year as well.

Naturally we're ticked as all get out. Nicholas has to be at the wedding! He already knows we're getting married, and wants to be there with us. So we decide to plan the wedding, begrudginly, around Nicholas' (read, ex-h's) schedule. That means it will have to be either March 8th or April 12th. We can't push it any farther back than the last weekend of April, because my parent have already bought their plane tickets, and need to use them by then or they loose them.

Suddenly, while driving in the car yesterday, I got an idea. (ping!) We get Nicholas for his spring break next year. So why not plan the wedding around that? I run to the computer, bring up his school's web site, and voila...he has spring break the first full week of April, and the weekend before and after. Meaning that not only will we have him for 10 whole days, but he'll be able to visit with his grandparents and be a part of the wedding. And there's not a damn thing his father can do about it to keep him from comming! Because if he does, he's going to get in huge trouble with the courts. Plus I'll drive up there and beat him to death with a sledge hammer. ;)

Calloo, callay. We have a wedding date. Now all we need to do is find a place to have it.

Oooo...and another wonderful thing. We've already picked out our wedding bands, and they're just beautiful. Mine's a white gold ring with diamonds all over the top of the band, and his is a titanium band with a thin gold rim on top and bottom. Gorgeus. We were planning on using my grandma's wedding band for mine, (It's 72 years old), but the jeweler said that in order to size it up for me, they'd have to stretch it, and it could possibly break. I told them "don't do it!" I'd rather have it as a keepsake then take the chance of breaking it.

We also had to get me a new engagement ring, since mine litteraly went down the drain about a month ago. But the new one is sooooooooo pretty. It has a very antique look to it, made up of little tiny princes cut stones. And it matches perfectly with the band that the wonderful jewerly gal helped us pick out. (Yeah Kay Jewelers!) I can't wait to wear mine, and to put chillas' on him.

Just over 4 months to go. I already have my dress, we know who we want to cater it (we're off to a meeting with them today), we meet with a florist on Saturday, and our photographer is all lined up. Now all we need is a place for the ceremony and reception...the hardest parts. I know we should have done that first, but we're not exactly traditional, I guess you could say.

Squee!!! I can't wait! *does Snoopy dance*

When the sweetest kitty ever was lost ~ Sunday, February 25, 2007

His name was Twitch, and he was the sweetest cat on the earth.

I adopted him less than two years ago after my cat Sam passed away. I was looking on an animal adoption site, saw his picture, and immediatly fell in love. I needed a cat that was good with other cats, kids, and dogs. A hard thing to find, but Twitch had it all. When I went to visit him at the shelter, he seemed to know I was there just for him. He rolled around and rubbed against me, all purrs and kitty smiles. So home with me he came.

He and his sister didn't get along so well at first. He just wanted to be friends, but she would have nothing to do with it. She'd just hiss at him. It took some time, but eventually I caught her washing his head one day, and I knew that things would be alright.

Twitch went through quite a bit in the short time I had him. When I adopted him, he came to live with just me and Smokey in my little apartment. Sometime thereafter I moved in with my then boyfriend, who also had two dogs. Then, a few months later, I moved back out, and it was just the three of us again. My finance came up quite often to see me, and Twitch just fell in love with the guy. (Always trust your pets). Then in July of last year Twitch, Smokey and I all moved down here to Ohio. A couple of months after that we moved into a bigger apartment. And a couple of months ago we adopted another cat, just so Twitch would have someone to play with.

Our little family was perfect. Twitch had Smoke to bug, and Max to play with. He had two people to love on, and people who loved him.

He was such a lover cat. Always sitting on our laps, and jumping on the bed to sleep with us. Usually he'd jump on chillas, then wiggle his way down inbetween us to sleep. He always had to be with his people.

Yesterday was a day like any other. He was playing with his brother, bothering his sister. I didn't have to be at work until 1, so we had a lazy Saturday morning. We even took a nap around 11 or so. Sometime between that and waking up around noon, Twitch passed away. He wasn't sick, and as far as we can tell, he didn't get into anything that would have posioned him. We found him lying on his side under our bed. We took his body to an emergency vet place, and they said they would take care of him for us.

I'm still in shock. Had he been sick or old, this probably wouldn't hurt so much. But he was a young cat, only 7 and 1/2, and in perfect health, so we thought. I don't know what happened to him. The lady at the clinic suspected heart attack. He did look like he just fell over. I'm hoping whatever it was that it was quick and painless.

He deserved better than this. He deserved to live a long life, and to die peacfully after becoming old and cranky. Not so young, and not 3 feet away from his people, who didn't even know.

I don't know how I'm going to tell Nicholas about this. Twitch was his kitty. Smokey can't stand Nicholas, and hides from him. And Max is still new, and they haven't had a chance to get to know each other yet. But Twitch was always there to greet Nicholas at the door when he came to visit. Always rubbed up against him and would love on him and let Nicholas squeeze him and hold him. I don't know what I can say to him. I hope he can understand.

Twitch was the second best cat I've ever had. The first being Sam. I feel so blessed to have two such wonderful cats in my life, but I wonder why they were both taken away so early, and so suddenly. It's such a hard thing to go through.

It's been less than 24 hours, and I'm still in shock. I can't believe he's gone. We'll never know why either.

I'm hoping that Max and Smokey will learn to get along, or Max may have to go, and I don't want to loose another cat. I got Twitch to keep Smokey company after Sam died, and they did get along so well, after that initial adjustment period. But Smokey's old and cranky, and Max is a kitten who just wants to play. I don't know if they'll ever get along. I hope so.

I know I'm rambling, I can't help it. I still can't believe he's gone. It just doesn't seem possible that a perfectly healthy cat simply died. We were asleep for less than 2 hours, and somehow he passed away. I feel guilty. Like if I had been awake, maybe he wouldn't have died. Or at least not died alone on the floor. I know that there's probably nothing we could have done, even if we had been awake, but there's always that feeling of guilt.

I miss you Twitch, so much. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. Rest in peace.

Holy cow!

Wow, but it's been a long time since I posted! Sheesh. Guess it's time to catch up, isn't it? So the next few blogs will do that, I hope.

We have a new kitty!

chillas and I had been talking about adopting a new cat for awhile. Well, Saturday we took the BeanSprout to PetsMart, just for a looksee. We came across this guy. Meet Max! chillas fell in love immediatly. So we decided to bring him home. And he already fits right in with our goofy little family. He and Twitch are already playing with each other. Smokey, however, hisses at him, but he gives it right back to her. I think they'll all be alright in the end.

He was adopted from one of the local no kill shelters. He had been rescued from a kill shelter at about 6 weeks old, and was put into a foster home. He's now 5 months old, and has the same birthday as our other cats! It must be ment to be.

I'm engaged!

That's right, I'm engaged! My sweetheart, chillas, proposed to me on Saturday. It was so sweet. We were sitting on the couch, cuddled up with our kitty cat in our lap, and he said "Honey, can I ask you a question?" And I thought "oh dear." But he pulled out the ring and said "Will you marry me?" Of course I said yes. :) I love this man more than anything.

I'm so happy! We've talked about getting married, just kind of in passing, but this was the real deal. The ring is beautiful, of course. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/sunflowerblue29/ring.jpg

We told my dad the other night, and told chillas' family last night. They are all so happy for us.

I'm on cloud nine.