Positivity Challenge: Day 5

It's the final day of the Positivity Challenge (well, technically it was yesterday, but I forgot to post), and today I'm grateful for:

1. Technology that allows me to stay connected to friends and family by just swiping the tip of my finger across a tiny screen...
2. A written budget--as hard as it was to get started, it brings such a sense of accomplishment when we stick to it and have money left to save at the end of the month
3. I am now on the substitute teacher list for a private school right around the corner!

Positivity Challenge: Day 4

Oops, I appear to have skipped a day!  I'll pick up where I left off with day 4, so here are my three positives for today:

1. Making new friends with the Jamberry Nails ladies at the consignment sale I'm working through next Thursday.  They kept me awake during a slow afternoon!
2. Mid-afternoon naps.  They are awesome.
3. A few hours relaxing on the dock at Lake Lanier with my husband, my sister, and my brother-in-law.  We saw lots of fish and a few ducks.

Positivity Challenge: Day 2

It's day two of the Positivity Challenge, and today my 3 positive incidents are:

1. Free yoga classes through our medical insurance
2. A job interview (more to come on that later...)
3. Lunch date with my wonderful husband

Positivity Challenge: Day 1

I accept the Positivity Challenge from my mother! The challenge is to write 3 positive incidents a day for 5 days and to challenge 3 people to do the same.

1. My Tastefully Simple business with its awesome food and flexible schedule
2. Dave's job, which he enjoys (even if he doesn't like getting up in the morning)
3. Our home--while we don't own it, it's a lot more than some families have

I challenge Heather, Kristine, and Allison... how about some blog posts? ;-)

My furry office assistant

Week 15: Scarves Galore

I've been posting for a couple weeks about knitting for the family adopted by my office.  I started slowly (aka procrastinated), which means I was knitting my fingers off this past weekend trying to finish the last two scarves.  I had a few scarves in reserve for girls, but trying to figure out how to make a scarf for a boy stumped me a bit.  I have two sisters, seven female cousins, and four nieces--not a boy in the bunch!

I worked on the black and rust ribbed scarf during the Bears game, which I started and finished on Sunday.  All three boys' scarves were in the laundry that night so I could take them to work on Monday morning.  Oh, and the Bears did win this week, which put them at the top of their division!

I always meant to make a scarf to match the striped hat,
so it was given with this batch of boy scarves.

The pink/purple scarf (left) was the only new project for the girls.
The other two were past projects from when I just felt like knitting a scarf!

A family of six scarves lined up in my cubicle
for an aunt and her five nieces and nephews.

Week 14: Da Coach

Da Bears pulled out an impressive win this week for Monday Night Football, which was appropriate considering they retired Mike "Da Coach" Ditka's number during halftime.  Oh, and I got a bit of knitting done on the scarves for the sponsor family at work this past week, too!

I'm a little ashamed my "to finish" pile has gotten this bad,
but the scarves on top got finished and washed this week!

Starting a scarf for a 4-year-old boy

Skeeter tolerates modeling the finished scarf

You started another one?  Leave me alone till it's done...

Almost done with the brother's scarf!

Week 13: Return of the Scarves

I've been in a mood to knit scarves lately, so at least one Christmas present will be this beautiful ribbed scarf of a soft fluffy yarn in purple, green, and turquoise, which was knit together with a second strand of turquoise chenille yarn to add thickness and warmth to the eyelash yarn.  It's finished, except for weaving in the ends.

Bernat Eye Lash yarn in "Glam" and
Herrschners Chenille yarn in turquoise

The office announced last week that we're adopting a family for Christmas, so I promptly volunteered to knit everyone scarves.  The girls are easiest to knit for--this scarf is a ladder ribbon yarn in burnt orange, pink, and purple, with a second strand of variegated purple eyelash yarn for contrast.  It's still a work in progress.

Folklore by Darice yarn in "Tan/Purple" and
Sensations Chello yarn in "Magic Purple"

I was working on the purple scarf at the Bears game, but because one of the opponent's colors is purple, it was suggested that I work on something else.  I started the Pink Camouflage burp cloth after halftime, knit about 50 angsty rows, but the Bears still managed to lose in overtime.  I may boycott knitting for the next game out of spite!

Week 4: Lack of Progress

Knitting during the Bears' games is apparently a requirement for them to win, and I have been blamed for their loss in Week 4 because I had a Tastefully Simple party scheduled.  Alas, I will not be there again next weekend because Dave and I are in a wedding.

The only knitting I got done this past week was a couple more stripes during Monday Night Football.  Instead of knitting, I was preparing for my first TS tasting party.  Preparations included dissecting a bunch of binders (by cutting out the center section with the rings) to make lapboards for party guests to fill out their order forms.  See the pretty new business cards that arrived last week?  And I have a shiny new nametag, too!

September Blessings

Is it just me, or did September fly by?  It seems like summer never really got here before the temperature started cooling down, and before I knew it, it was October!  Before I think about everything going on this month, I wanted to take some time to think about all the ways Dave and I were blessed in September.

• Dave is officially a Big Blue employee!  Even though he was eligible for benefits right away, he has to work six months to earn vacation time.  Boo...
• I am working again!  A part-time job at a law firm in Buckhead fell into my lap at just the right time.  I enjoy the work because I'm getting paid to organize files, and it's only through the end of the year when their office moves.
• We had an awesome housewarming with lots of friends and family stopping by!  The new place is definitely better for entertaining (even if it is only temporary lodging till we're ready to buy a house out here).
• My sister's bachelorette party was a smashing success.  If you want to know more about it, Mary and Sarah both posted on their blogs.
• I had a successful first tasting party for Tastefully Simple!  Now that I've gotten the first one done to know how it goes, I can work on refining my presentation for future parties.  It's a challenge keep up with TS, the chores at home, and the PT job, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Never thought I'd work at a big building in Atlanta...

July-August Blessings

I realize I've been negligent in posting my blessings the past two months, and some of our summer blessings are the very causes of my tardiness!

• In July and August, we celebrated Dave's birthday, his dad's birthday, my mom's birthday, my dad's birthday, and the birth of our fourth niece (and soon-to-be Goddaughter), Elizabeth Amelia.  Lots of family time!
• Sarah and I planned an awesome bridal shower for our middle sister, Mary.  I'd blog about it here, but Sarah already did an awesome job on her blog.
• Our rental was available on August 1st, and we were closing on the townhouse on August 2nd, so we had a very short time frame to move.  A month later, we have no more mortgage (nor Homeowners Association, woo hoo!), and I'm finally unpacked enough to be willing to invite people to our home.
• I joined Tastefully Simple as an independent consultant in the midst of all this craziness and now have my own little business to organize.  I have my own Facebook page and consultant website, plus I'm having fun setting up a home office in our loft!
• After five years as a contractor for Big Blue Wireless Company, Dave was offered a position as an actual employee!  We're looking forward to a bit more job security and hopefully a good benefits package.

My workspace (and Dave's playspace)

Tastefully Simple Central

I can't argue with sharing an office...

May Blessings

Yes, I'm running a week late on this post for May.  I've kinda been busy getting the house ready to sell, so without further ado, here are the blessings I'm counting from last month:

• Mother's Day brunch hosted by my sister Mary and her fiance Paul with lots of enjoyable conversation on the back porch on a beautiful afternoon (plus entertainment provided by one particularly adorable dachshund and her pink racquetball)
• My last day of work (May 17) and the beginning of voluntary unemployment, which for the first two weeks consisted of back-breaking work like painting, yardwork, packing, moving boxes into storage, and cleaning just about everything in our house.
• Girls' Night Out at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta and lots of fun comments about taking Hot Hamlet home in our trunk...
• A pleasant birthday afternoon spent stitching with the ladies at PINS and a birthday date night with my husband to see Star Trek: Into Darkness in 3D on the IMAX screen.  Yes, I am not ashamed to be a Star Trek fan!
• Brunch with my in-laws at Ray's on the River (my first time there) to celebrate the May birthdays of me and my SIL--any excuse to get together with family and to see our three adorable nieces!

Counting My April Blessings

I've learned that I can't keep up with a weekly blog post, so let's try counting my blessings monthly!

• Between the book club for In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, dinner at Spice Brick Oven Kitchen with college friends, and lunch at Mykonos Taverna with old book club friends, I had a lot of great "girls only" time!
• I spent a lot of quality time with my husband as well with a week-long trip to Tennessee, no more overtime at work every night, and only one Sunday working from home.  I've also gotten him addicted to Castle in time for the season finale in May *evil grin*
• Unfortunately, we've learned that Dave's new office is not far enough away to be considered a "hardship," which means we will not be able to rent out the townhouse if it doesn't sell.  The bright side is that home improvements are coming along slowly but surely (and within budget), and our realtor is optimistic that we may be able to sell for more than our appraisal value.
• Less than a month left of work for me!  May 17th is my last day, and then I become full-time housewife with the mission of getting our house on the market and sold as quickly as possible.  After four years working at the same school, I'm ready to graduate!
• After too many months of procrastination, I took my "To Finish" bag of knits to our monthly PINS group and wove in the ends of almost a dozen projects.  Now to motivate myself to hand wash them all...

Counting My Blessings #7

Yes, I realize it's been three weeks since I last posted.  I have no better excuse than I am a slacker, but I'm still thankful for all the blessings so far this month!

• With all of the chaos up in Boston following the bombings at the marathon earlier this week, I'm praying that the extended families of my BIL Robert and soon-to-be BIL Paul up in Boston are okay and thanking God that my family is safe and sound
• A relaxing week of vacation at a Bed & Breakfast in Gatlinburg spoiled me with no work, no chores, and lots of together time with my husband!
• A Friday night out with the girls last week to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while
• Continued progress on getting the house ready to sell--the ceiling fans have now been swapped out, there's an epic case of spackle spots throughout the house (still motivating myself to prime and paint), and the new kitchen faucet is in the mail
• A resurgence of my former band geek thanks to the band director where I work asking faculty and staff to volunteer to play for the encore song at the spring concert next week; I thought it would be a fun way to end my (almost) four years as Donor Relations Coordinator before we move this summer

 

Green Acres Middle School Charger Band

Counting My Blessings #6

• Our book-less book group met up for our monthly lunch date last weekend.  This month we tried a German place that had a brunch menu worth drooling over.
• I read the first book toward my Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge goal, Wickham's Diary.  Of course it wasn't a book on my original challenge list, but it's still progress.  Not the greatest P&P spin-off, IMHO.
• I finished two knitting projects this week--detailed post to come later.  Both were supposed to be Christmas presents, but there's always a birthday or next Christmas for finally gifting them!
• One of my co-workers who has been out on medical leave since December will be back part-time next week.  It will be good to have her back--I've missed our morning tea time!
• As March comes to a close, Dave and I can be grateful that we both survived his first quarter project at work that required him to work insanely long hours during the week and every other weekend.  Hopefully by the end of next quarter, we'll be selling our house and preparing to move near his new office!

Georgia Peach and Pecan French Toast...
with whipped cream in a gravy boat!

Counting My Blessings #5

• It's been a long week of obnoxious work hours for Dave, but I am thankful he has a job and his big project at work is almost over.
• Tuesday we were both able to get a day off together.  Our plans?  We slept in, then had a big lunch at Mimi's Cafe!
• We had a contractor look at some of the cracks in our ceiling upstairs to get an estimate, and he advised us to wait till an interested purchaser has an inspection done.  Then he can take care of everything on the "fix list" at once, and the cracks may not even be an issue!
• I sped through the book club choice for March, A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, in three days.  After book club on Wednesday night, I got to stock up on new books for the next few months: In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, The Magician's Assistant, and The Dovekeepers.
• I'm finally healthy enough to be getting back on the treadmill again.  While not the most thrilling thing in the world, I'm just happy to have the energy to work out again and take advantage of that outlet for stress relief.
  

Dave texted me this picture while we were both home on Tuesday...

Counting My Blessings #4

1. Last weekend was an Alpha Gamma Delta reunion for our Theta Delta chapter's 30th Anniversary.  It was a great to catch up, meet new sisters, and relive college memories.
2. Dave and I are done with our taxes, and we're getting refunds this year (which will probably go to pay moving costs)
3. My sister's fiance started a new job this week, and a good friend's husband starts his new job next week.  Both have been unsuccessfully job searching for months, so this is wonderful news!
4. Habemus Papam!  Pope Francis is the first Pope from our hemisphere and the first Jesuit to be Bishop of Rome.  I look forward to seeing how he guides and inspires the Church during his pontificate.
5. We finally know where we're moving this summer!  Now that Dave's job has decided where their office is going, hopefully they'll narrow down when we're moving so we know when to put the house on the market...

Counting My Blessings #3

1. Dad taught me how to install light fixtures all by myself without electrocuting myself nor burning down the house!
2. Our vacation to the Eight Gables Inn in Gatlinburg is booked, so now I have something to look forward to next month (besides my last day of work).
3. Wednesday morning, there were occasional snow flurries on the way to work.  It was such a peaceful feeling, like I was inside of a snow globe as I drove.
4. Last night, Dave and I had an impromptu dessert date to spend a little time together since his work hours are getting more insane closer to the end of their project.  We shared fried cheesecake at Buffalo's Cafe... nom nom nom!
5. In light of the current "Sede Vacante" in Rome, this AWESOME video taught me a few new things and made me giggle more than once:

Holiday Santa-tizer

Last year I got all ambitious for my co-worker's Christmas gifts.  This year... not so much.  But I had to be at least a little bit crafty, so with the inspiration of the "Hand Stanta-tizer" idea found through Pinterest, I came up with my own low-budget gift that kept the wonderfully lame Santa pun.

This is an oddly appropriate gift for work right now since the crud has been going around campus for the past few weeks!

Home Stretch!

Even though I haven't been posting the Thanksgiving countdown regularly with fun holiday projects and photos like I did last year, the countdown has been happening since 50 days out on my office door.  I can't believe this is only my third Turkey Day post this year!  I blame it on the whirlwind month of October (due mostly to work...)  But we've made it to the home stretch--only 10 days till turkey feasting and a much-needed break from work!

Pinspiration at Work

Surprise task of the day at work: Goodie bags!  Seriously, I spent half of my day creating goodie bags for the faculty and staff members who participated in the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program.  This program also happens to be one of my pet projects at work... check out the GOAL website for more info on this awesome tax credit program that provides scholarship funds for private schools in Georgia!

And back to the project of the day...

I started with a Pinterest search for ideas.  I've been fascinated with the idea of a gift bag topper since I pinned a Thanksgiving cookie bag topper last fall.  Coworker Sheryl used her mad computer skills to create our own "Thank you for participating!" topper, and I went shopping at lunch for the goodies and the baggies.  Add some temporary tattoos for school spirit and a some fluff for decoration (seriously, I felt like Rowan Atkinson in the gift wrapping scene from Love Actually for that last bit), and they were ready to be topped off and put on display!

Nom noms for the goodie bags and the pre-cut toppers

Now I know why I stockpile empty file folder boxes!

Scavenged items from around the workplace to complete the bags...

After bonding with the paper cutter, it's the stapler's turn

Coworker Mary decorated the baskets for displaying the finished baggies