Week one of being 33--and week one of my challenge

This wrapped up my First week of my 365+ photo challenge. The first picture was from the Employee Appreciation Party. It represents the things I liked most about the Party (the cool new bags we got and the Cookbook which included my Recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies). I have been working for this company for a year and a half now and love my job. But next year I might sit employee appreciation out. The food they have had for the last 2 years has not agreed with me and I don't have a knack for winning prizes.

The second Photo was taken using the Self Timer with our $100 gift card we got from Rent.Com as they were the referral source in finding our new place. We got a lot of cute things for the apartment with it. =)

As seen on Tv---as we know, some things work really well that are in infomercials (George Foreman Grill and the Magic Bullet for Instance) Other things---not so much. The Bumpits are one of them. I have something similar from Goodie that gives ones ponytails more volume and that works 10 times better than the bumpit. I have thin hair as it is and all this seemed to do is pull my hair and I could never seem to cover it up. Good thing I got it at the Dollar General. =(

Finally, it is the 33. I thought this was cute because I just turned 33 and the Wii decided that day this was my Wii Fit age. For some reason the Wii Fit seems to think I just turned 30 though and I can't find a way to fix this. Oh well....

-Jackie

July 27th, 2009 (Day 4)--New Beginnings

Today's picture is symbolic of the official new start in my family--ringing in another year of life for me (the big 33) and finally being able to close the door on anything having to do with our old apartment. After almost a month of waiting (due to carelessness on their part)--we have our security deposit back. Due to the dog bite and a busy wknd we held off getting my birthday cake until today. I am using the self timer for this picture. This represents a celebration in my life, in more ways that just a birthday!

The thing is---I am no longer feeling angry---I just feel sorry for them that they choose to treat people like that. I pray that one day they reach a point where they need to put the integrity in their company. But until then......I will enjoy my existance and return to my regularly scheduled life...already in progress. =)

-Jackie

My New Challenge

I really enjoyed doing the 368 New things a day challlenge. I enjoyed it so much so that I decided I wanted to undergo another 365+ day challenge. I have heard of others doing this so I am to......

I will be doing a 365+ photo a day challenge. I actually started on July 24th instead of my birthday, July 26th. Above are the first three photos: the first one is of the sunset from our balcony, the second is my friend Andy's Projector screen on which we Played my new Wii game of Trivial Pursuit, The third was a not so fun thing---I got bit by the neighbors dog early in the morning hours of my birthday. I decided to document this photo not to focus on the negative but because one year I know I will look back on it, laugh and say "What a nice Birthday Present"...

Stay tuned for more challenge photos as the year progresses.

-Jackie

Sleeping in and Delilah

Now that the drama with our old apartment is pretty much behind us (The check for our security deposit is in the mail and we are ready to move on with our lives), we are really starting to find even more blessings that come with our new place. One of them is the City Park where Pretzel likes to peek in the bushes looking for birds and we enjoy the open area with it's trees and hills.

There are two big changes that have happened in my routine since our move. The first is: I am actually comfortable enough to go into work a little later than I usually do. My commute went from 30-45 minutes one way down to 15-20 minutes. Also our apartment is so peaceful and comfortable it is nice to be able to not be up at the first alarm all the time. My average start time at work used to be between 4-6am. Now it is between 5:30-7am.

The other big change is in my nighttime routine. At our old place we had to deal with screaming kids and the wonderful downstairs neighbors to the point we could not be on the deck anymore because they would climb in and out the window and upset our dog. Not the case here. It is so peaceful around here, tonight I sat on the deck with Pretzel and started the second book in the Twilight series. I also love opening the deck door and feeling the cool breeze come in, instead of watching TV each night like I used to I have rediscovered listening to the Delilah show at night. She used to be a favorite of mine right out of college when I was working overnights at a Residential Treatment facility for teenage girls. Over the years I have listened to her now and again but not as a habit. More women listen to Delilah each evening than to any other radio host in the United States. Some of the song requests she fits to pick the listeners stories I think are a little cheesy, but overall I love hearing the readers stories and songs I have not heard for quite awhile. I do have to watch my Hell's Kitchen on Tuesday nights but the rest of the time I like to listen to Delilah when her show is on the air.

-Jackie

If you don't have something nice to say....

Many of you know, I love Facebook. Not only has it been a chance to reconnect with old friends as well as getting to know new ones, but it's also been therapeutic for me. One of the things I have doing was when I was having a bad day and did not want to sound too negative I would write my rant in Spanish. Today I ended up having a negative Facebook experience with some acquaintances of mine, a married couple....the same married couple where I attended their wedding shower even though I have been struggling with infertility. They informed me that "If I could not post in English I should not post at all."-- My Mom always said if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all!

Just to give you some background, this has been a terrible day for my husband and I. We found out some more negative information concerning our former apartment manager that I do not want to get into right now. The comment that was posted on Facebook upset both my husband and I and I explained (once again as I had explained this with them before) that this was something I did on Facebook when I was having a bad day, I did not appreciate their comments and it was my Facebook and I would post what I wanted to. (I also have 4-5 friends who do translate and enjoy doing this as they are fluent in Spanish). 30 minutes later they tell me I need to make Facebook fun for everyone and needed to STOP writing in Spanish. After consulting with a friend of mine on there I decided I did not need that negativity on my page and took them off my friends list. They know I was having a bad day still chose to attack me over Speaking Spanish on my site once in awhile. Sheesh!

I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day...

-Jackie

Where do I go?

I am a stuffer...pure and simple. I am the type of person who will let things build and build and build until I reach my breaking point. An example of this is at my current job. Some people wrote some negative comments on the staff review section of my six month eval. Since they remained anonymous I think they turned off their filtering system and turned on the passive aggressiveness. I stuffed my hurt and anger down for six months until we had a meeting at work where we were supposed to "put all of our issues with each other on the table" then the whole story came flying out. It felt good it was out but I hated the fact that I stuffed it down so far and let it fester for so long.

This week was another example of this. Last week a co-worker (who complained about EVERYTHING) left for a "better" job. He also left us with files in disarray and ones that had nonworking phone numbers. This left extra stress and work for me and my co-workers. This commenced my infamous "Stuffing".....by Wednesday of this week I was at my breaking point---I wouldn't talk to my husband about it, I burst into tears numerous times and everything else that was added to the pile felt so much worse (My stuffing pile that is.) I knew I had to get away on Wednesday so I ended up at Barnes and Noble for awhile. I am terrible at going away to sort things out. Our old place did not have a lot of places I could go without having to hop in the car and trek a ways....my husband also had a rocky year last year and I became afraid of getting out and doing things for myself in case something happened with him when I was gone. (Which he finally had to sit me down and tell me I needed to stop that.)

One of my new things needs to be rediscovering those places I can get away to. I used to love to have those "Thinking spots." I used to love to take my scrapbooking supplies and head out to Archiver's and work on my pages. I used to love to take walks at the Nature Center or around the lake. I just stopped doing that in 08 and need to start again. I think Barnes and Noble is a good starting point because it's close and because I can sit and read without a commitment to buy anything.

By the way, I will be starting a new 365 day challenge on July 26th. I will post about it on this site but will continue to let you know about my new things as I do them.

-Jackie

I Finally won

I am a follower of a website called Chic Book Reviews. New books are discussed and sometimes the author is interviewed. Reviews are done on the books by the website's author and sometimes books are given away....usually 1-3 a week. I was beginning to think I would never win any books off this site...until this morning when I won....The new Joyce Meyer book (see above). I actually just got done reading it this wknd as I checked it out from the library but I loved it so much I was planning on buying it!

I can tell you this much---after the week I have been having (a client screaming at me on my voice mail, a co-worker leaving files in disarray after he found another job and leaving me overwhelmed)...it's nice to have something like this coming my way. =)

-Jackie

Defamation of Character, Hufflepuff and Pizza personalities

Hello Everyone,
Well this week has been.....interesting to say the least. We checked out of our apartment on Monday and to my dismay have never been treated so poorly by an apartment manager in my entire life. She is trying to suck us out of our whole security deposit for things like burned out light bulbs, blinds that were so crappy they broke when we pulled the string for them to go down, a bathtub we reported yellowing and dirty upon move in, a window that cracked because it froze this winter and the other window that cracked because the neighbors slammed their doors and windows so hard that the window cracked. The property manager also called me a liar twice and my husband a liar once upon checkout which would be consider defamation of character. Needless to say I am playing phone tag with the Property management company who was delivered a complaint from the Better Business Bureau on my behalf and have requested a response from the company. I stated besides some burner pans that got yucked up and we chose not to replace and about an hour of cleaing because I did forget to clean out a drawer in the bathroom, I want me security deposit back, the cancelled check fee for a check she lost and then found in her pocket a week later back in 2007, and half a months rent since we left on the 12th of July and had everything out the next week. She just could not meet with us until the 30th because she said she had a "conference in Wisconsin to go to." I have everything documented to, because I am a Social Worker and we are good at doing that. =) So hopefully this can be over after today and we can go on with our life and enjoy our new place.

Onto happier "new things"

I found this quiz from Minnesota Monthly regarding "what Pizza Personality are you." I love most pizzas so I had to check it out. The results were pretty accurate.

Your Pizza: Leonardo's
Homesick Chicago transplants have been known to fly down to the Windy City for a deep-dish pizza because Minnesota, for all its charms, tends to make deep-dish pizzas that are either not deep enough, or, well, repulsive. It’s time for homesick Chicago transplants to join hands, sing, and rejoice! There is, in fact, one place in the Twin Cities that knows how to make a deep-dish pizza. The place is called Leonardo’s, in Mahtomedi, and it doesn’t look like much, just a little storefront in a little strip mall. But appearances can be deceiving. Call ahead with your deep-dish order because it will take Leonardo’s a good 40 minutes to cook their Chicago stuffed pizza, as it should. When it’s done, though, you will have a heavy, casserole-sized, well-cooked two-inch-deep pizza stuffed with Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, provolone, mozzarella, and—most important—a spicy, garlicky, thick, zesty, magnificent marinara sauce.

I have not tried this Leonardo's but I love to make Road Trips around MN to explore new places and try new foods. This might be worth the effort!

Another new thing answered my question I have always had surrounding Harry Potter: Which house would the sorting hat choose for me? According to the Facebook Survey: Hufflepuff, because I love Justice but do not like conflict or hurting others. I have a Pure Heart, according to my results. Awwwww....

-Jackie