New Learnings

Good... morning!

I should be in bed, but I'm kind of buzzing still. If you've read the last couple posts, you know that I've been promoted at WalMart to a CSM (Customer Service Manager). Well, tonight was my first night actually getting a "hands-on" experience. It was exciting! Actually, it made the night go a little faster than I'm used to. Before I knew it, it was supper time. Of course, I was only working a 3-11... we'll see tomorrow how another hour affects my perception. Also... we're only 2 days into the work week (tomorrow being the 3rd) and I'm already over by an hour. :S *sigh* So... I'll try to trim down a few minutes here and there, but it won't be easy. lol

Since I do have to get up early again tomorrow and be to Things Remembered before working at WalMart at 2, I had better get going to bed. Frustrations will be expressed about that one later. *sigh*.... Oh, what the hell.

Okay, so... Things Remembered is still going through management switch over... The Manager is set, but she hasn't hired a new Assistant Manager yet.... so I think she's still trying to depend on me for it, but I'm not able to put in that many hours... She still schedules me whenever she can. For example, last week, I worked at WalMart starting at either 2 or 3 all week. She ended up scheduling me open to 1 or 2 with respect to my schedule at WalMart... I got through it fine. The hours aren't really the problem. It's the fact that she's relying on me to do all the engraving that she won't do or that the others can't do. She's hiring ladies that are middle age and older. Now, they're great ladies... nothing against them. However... it takes them a while to do... everything. Therefore, I've pretty much become The Engraver. I'd like to know what is going to happen this coming weekend when I'm gone from Thursday until Tuesday... Is she going to say that certain orders won't be done for like 4 days?! Especially glass or carry-ins. Carry-ins could probably get by with that... but any glass orders..? How about big orders? I just... I should have known that it would happen this way... but I really didn't expect this. *sigh* I'm trying to tell myself that it's just a rough patch and it'll get better.... I hope....


Alright... to bed for reals. lol




Stay Tuned!!

Great News Day!

Well, well, well.... Saturday was a day of great news! ^_^

I'll start with my favorite piece of news! My little sister had her fiance have chosen a date for their wedding. July 4th, 2013... (It's on a Thursday... sooo it may end up changing slightly, but... again, it may not. :)) She also asked me to be her Maid of Honor! ^_^ So excited! Just wish I was a little closer to help out more when it gets closer to the date.

     (On a side note, that makes 6 weddings that I've been in.... or will be in... Alicia & Charles (BM in 2006), Sami & Roy (BM in 2008), Erica & Brian (MoH in 2008), Brit & Aaron (MoH in 2012), Krisha & Trevor (BM in 2013), and Callie & Nick (MoH in 2013). That doesn't include the two weddings that I was in as flower girl when I was little. Starting to feel a bit like Katherine Heigl from "27 Dresses"...)

Annnyway.....

Then, I went into WalMart for my shift.... and was offered the CSM position. I took it, so I am now at the pay grade 6... Sadly though, I won't be able to actually start working up front until they find someone to take my place in Toys. However, if there happens to be a lull or all of us back in the area, I'll probably be pulled up front to train. There's a lot that I have to learn.... I have a feeling. :S

Hm... other good news. The Sara Bareilles concert was amazing! Great music, as always. Quirky personality. Outstanding voice. Perfection. Loved it! Travis went with me! According to Sara, "He's marriage material." (Since he attended the concert, that makes him sensitive which, in turn, makes him marriage material. :))

And now, I'm sitting at home... alone. Travis is working. :( It was so nice to have him home last night instead of him working. Annnnd since I haven't gushed about he and I in a while... be prepared. We're doing great... as always. I mean... I just love being with him... being around him. Kissing him, hugging him. All of it just... brightens my day. He brightens my day. The little things.... the big things. I just am so overwhelmed with.... happiness, love, hopefulness.... all of the above. I want to give him everything. I want to do anything for him.... Just EVERYTHING! ^_^ *sigh*

Okay, I better go before I flood my keyboard. Hope all is well for you, my readers!




Thanks for tuning in!

Latest, Greatest, and not so much....

There's been quite a few things that have happened since the last time I posted. Let's catch up, shall we?

First and foremost - My little sister has had her baby! A healthy, bouncing baby boy, Cameron Alexander, born on March 26th at 8:21 am at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 21 inches long. ^_^ He's the most adorable little thing!

Looks just like her when she was a baby!

I can't wait to get more pictures! ^_^ Apparently, tomorrow he's going to get his circumcision.... Oh boy!

Next order of business... I've been playing Job Shuffle. First, Things Remembered offers me the Assistant Manager position (for the second time) and I accept this time. Within a few days of accepting and getting the promotion underway, I'm pulled into the Manager's Office at Walmart and am asked if I'd ever considered becoming a Customer Service Manager.... by 3 different people. I honestly hadn't given it much though. They deal with a lot of crap from customers and fellow employees... especially managers. So... they explain the benefits to me... I explain my predicament.... They persuade further. I ended up changing my preferences about 5 minutes after they asked me. Then, I did the math in my head and with a calculator. Taking the CSM position (and minimizing TR to 8-12 hours a week) would be the same money-wise as what I'm doing now... Only, I wouldn't be killing myself trying to get from on job to the other.... No fighting for hours.... Overall, less stress. More time to myself. More time for things other than work and sleep. And since I've started working, I've never had just one job... So, that would be the best part. Not saying that I would completely quit TR, but it would be nice not to NEED the second job in order to survive... you know?

So, that's where things are at with me... Travis and I are still going strong! Just past our 21 month anniversary in March... Two year is coming up! ^_^ No idea what we're doing yet. No clue. 

Will be busy in the upcoming weekends though. This weekend, Travis and I are going to Sara Bareilles on Sunday! Sooooo EXCITED! Next weekend... no plans. May 5th is Graduation in Madison. Will definitely be there! Weekend of May 12th... nothing on the plate as of right now. Mom wants to take the kids and go to see Callie and Cameron during the weekend of the 18th... Then, it's Memorial Day weekend after that.... Another no-plan weekend for May 2nd. THEN, It's Britney and Aaron's wedding on June 9th! ^_^ So yea..... busy, busy, busy. 

OH! Speaking of Brit and her upcoming wedding! This past weekend was her Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party, which we both successes! I think, anyway. We had smaller groups that i was anticipating, but it was a good time either way! ^_^

*sigh* I suppose it's bed time now. Gotta get up early tomorrow for a shift at TR... Not even sure how long I'll be working for sure. :S It's down to just the Store Manager and myself for employees... :S This worries me a little. I hope she picks out some people from the applications that we've had come in. *sigh.... again*

Stay Tuned!

New & Old News

Soooo..... WE'RE ALL MOVED IN!

I'm so freaking excited! There's still unpacking to be done, but we're completely out of the old place, into the new place, and loving it! Being able to leave home 15 minutes before work instead of 35 minutes beforehand is just... amazing. That extra 20 minutes is awesome to be able to use that time to relax, or lately to unpack and organize. And the new place is coming together!

*sigh* Hm.... Haven't heard anything from the Assistant Manager position at Things Remembered. In fact, I've been kind of cut down to my regular Sunday shifts and one other day a week. I was approached by my Apparel Supervisor at WalMart to add on a few more hours over the next couple of weeks, so I'm definitely up for that. ^_^

I'm very excited for the weekend before my birthday! Shawna will be visiting for the whole weekend and then joining me at the Kelly Clarkson concert ON my birthday! It's going to be amazing!

Not much else to update right now... I guess. Um... Oh!

Travis and I are going strong! We celebrated our 19 month anniversary and Valentine's Day together on February 8th because we both had the entire day off... which never happens. lol What did we do with the whole day? Well, we started off the day by sleeping in a little bit. :P Then, we watched the last installment of Lord of the Ring - Return of the King. It was like 4 1/2 hours... I actually ended up enjoying the whole series. Definitely not something that I'll be 'needing' to watch again any time soon.... but it's still a good series. :) After that, we packed up the car and headed into our now-current apartment. By the time we were done with that, we got ready for dinner at Red Lobster. ^_^ That's where we exchanged our gifts. I gave him two cards (one for our anniversary, one for Valentine's Day) and a bracelet engraved with the Claddagh symbol (to match the ring that I have) on the front and a message on the back that said "You captured my heart <3" He loved it! He gave me two new beads for my Pandora bracelet. One is silver with swirls and blue stones on it. The other one has a little bit of a backstory. It's shaped like a D-20 (it actually only has 18 sides, but that's not the point) and represents my "Level Up" in nerdiness since I finished the LOTR movies. hehe I loved it! It was perfect.



Stay Tuned!

Getting down to the nitty-gritty....

Well, I'm sitting at the "old apartment" (in Dell Rapids)... alone. After midnight. Can't really get to sleep yet. Trying to make a mental list of things that need to be accomplished in the week ahead, but I'm too tired for any of it to stick for more than two seconds. I'll try that again tomorrow.

I'm in another bind at work... Okay, not a "bind" necessarily, but it's... eh. I've been asked if I want to transfer to the Toy Department and out out Apparel. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

PROS:

My 'work' will be seen more than it is in Apparel

More likely to move up to a Department Manager position

(in turn, I could wind up with 40 hours on a set schedule...)

CONS:

More critism

Higher expectations

More responsibility... (this one's kinda both)

Work alone more often than not

As you can see... it's about equal... One doesn't really out weight the other. And this is why I'm not sure how to feel about it. I don't want to be a "lifer"... If I were to move up to a DM position, that fate is more likely. Then, I start thinking about needed to look for a graphics job and how I'm wwwwaaaaay lacking on that... and it's just a downward spiral of thinking after that. 

Sooooo, we'll change the subject.

We're probably about 1/2 way moved into the "new apartment." Most of what's left is, of course, the furniture, dishes, and food. We'll have two trucks here next Saturday to get the rest of it out! I'm so pumped! ^_^ We just need muscle to help get everything down the stairs of the old place and into the new place. No stairs at the new place! Ground floor. Pretty sweet. 

So much to do for things... Main concern. Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party for my bride, Britney... Here it's already February! She's getting married in June! Omg. After the move, I'm going to start up on that hardcore. I just don't think I can handle starting it right now. Plus, I already have it pretty much planned out... It's just a matter of contacting the other bridesmaids and confirming everything. A lot of it is in my head... I just haven't expressed it yet. haha

Okay... I think I'm able to get some sleep now. I will post again soon with pictures of the new apartment with everything in it! ^_^

Stay Tuned!

Yay 2012!

Wow... Just realized that my last post was on Christmas Day.... Um, I'd say it's time for an update. Yes?

Alrighty.... Let's hit the job front first. Well, I was recently in a sort a pickle, so to speak. My supervisor at Wal*Mart was helping to me transfer into the Vision Center for full time hours and higher pay. Then, shortly thereafter, my manager at Things Remembered clued me into an open Assistant Manager position at our store. So... I had been waiting to hear back from Wal*Mart for a few weeks because that would have been the best option all around. Well... Then, last week, my supervisor informed me that there's been a hold put on all internal transferring with in the store... Reason = unknown. That's when I began to think about taking the AM position... However, I did the math. If I were to switch and have Things Remembered as my primary, that would limit my availability at Wal*Mart... and when that happens, hours seem to be cut to, like, half of what I'm available for. :( In the end, I would actually end up losing hours and, in turn, lose money. SOOOOooo, I'm sticking with where I'm at now.

Next update... Apartment hunting. Did you guys even know we were looking into a different place? (*thinks*.... Maybe I didn't mention it before....) Okay, at the top then. A few months ago, we started thinking about all the gas we were using driving back and forth into Sioux Falls for work. It would make more sense to live IN Sioux Falls and use that money towards rent instead. So, skipping all the details of the actual search and what not, we've found a place! It's on W 43rd Street, right off 41st. $600 a month. 2 bedroom, 1 bath. Huge living/dining area. Everything looks relatively new. Ground floor. I'm not sure what else could be better.... Oh yea, Travis and I will have a closet that we can actually walk into and use to the fullest! OMG! lol Beyond that though... the location. The cost. Everything is just... GREAT! ^_^ So excited! On Monday, I'll be taking in the applications and our deposit. The lady said as soon as we get the deposit in to her, we get the keys and can start moving our stuff in. So pumped!

Hm... what else? Travis and I couldn't be better! ^_^ *sigh* So, so, so happy! We're looking to celebrate our 19 month anniversary (on January 30) and Valentine's Day together... at some point. haha I have his gift already... (or one of them. ;) hehe) And he's been "researching" lately... So anxious!

I need to start gearing up for Britney & Aaron's wedding! Last week, I went and bought my MOH dress! It really reminded me that there's only a few months left! OMG! Need to get the Bridal Shower together..... the Bachelorette Party. Oh man... Need to get working. haha

OOOO! I finished up my sister's Baby Shower Invites! Take a look!

Front side. Postcard style with address areas on the other side.

They're so nice! I like them. She wanted kind of a "Rockstar Theme"... I think I did it pretty well. She liked them and that's all I care about. :D  If you like them, you should let me know! And.... tell your friends! haha (Much appreciated, btw!)

All in all, 2012 has been quite wonderful so far! Finances are looking up. A new place in on the horizon. Our relationship is always growing. ^_^ Can't wait for the rest of the year!



Stay Tuned!

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!

Hello there readers!


Hope everyone's holiday season is going well and merry! ^_^ I realize that it's been a while since I posed last. I have also been pretty busy. Let's explore...


Working. Been working lots during the holiday season. Approximately 40 hours a week at Wal*Mart and then about 20 hours at Things Remembered. Yep! *enter sarcasm tone here* Working is fun! *end of sarcasm*


It's actually not too bad. Just leaves little to no time for anything else. However, with the season being practically over, hours will lessen... leaving time for.... ME! And all the other stuff that I need to do. :D Yay! haha


Things in my life... Travis and I are great! We're coming up on our 18 month anniversary right before the turn of the year. ^_^ It's been an amazing 18 months so far. Looking forward to the many months so come. <3


We're still looking to move into Sioux Falls in the next few months. Unsure of the details, but we should get them sorted out soon. Hopefully....


Watching House with Travis while we're sitting in Eau Claire with the Pickerign side of the family. Tomorrow, we take off for Huron to see Travis' parents and brother. 8 hours of driving ahead. *sigh* At least it's not too complicated, just long. 


Well, I guess that's all for now. Be back soon!!






Stay Tuned!

Soooo many numbers...

and I hate math. 

Crunching the numbers for rent and other expenses.... We may be moving to Sioux Falls. Yes, Dell Rapids is nice and quiet, but it may actually be costing us more than we thought. *shrugs* Figures. 

So, I've been researching apartments all over Sioux Falls to see what would work best for us. We've found a few.... we'll see what happens. 

Of course, we haven't calculated in the moving costs themselves. :S We know we're going to need a Uhaul for all of our big pieces of furniture. Then, there's the deposit, application fees (if needed), and gas to go back and forth.... Oh boy. Good thing we'll get out deposit back from here when we decide to get into gear. *sigh* Hopefully soon... I guess. It'd be nice to not have to leave 45 minutes before each shift for the drive. :P

We'll see how it turns out. 

Stay Tuned!

.... something.

Something is gone...

My energy is down. I seem to be irritable all the time... and/or tired. Even my days off aren't relieving anymore...

I don't like this. I want to be happy and "shiney" again... Even my hair colorist (who sees me every 2 months or so) said the other day that I wasn't "my normal happy self"... *heavy sigh*

Why? I can't seem to finish anything. I've given up on the 365 Project... and I started that 30 Day Drawing Challenge and only made it a week. Motivation is a stranger to me.

I think I might know what this something is.

Human interaction.

Seriously. I think that may be it... Since I moved to Dell Rapids and started working, I haven't had much interaction with anyone outside of Mandy and Travis. And I am, by no means, demeaning the interactions that I have with them. If I didn't have them, I'd probably go nuts... (Like I'm 'not' already...)

How did I find this out? I went to Madison to watch the play on Saturday night. I watched the performance. I watched my peers perform on stage... without me. I had nothing to do with this production and it was a surreal feeling for me. But it was afterwards... the reactions from the people that I knew was overwhelming in the best way possible. Every single one of them recognized me by my laugh... of course... but I was perfectly fine with that. I laughed that night, during and after the production, more than I have laughed in the last month. No lie.

I just... was so happy to see them. I had that same "theater energy" as when I was actually in the productions. I miss acting. I miss Drama Club... I miss so much about college. Now, I'm out in the "real world", working.... and working. This is what I have to look forward to for the next 80 years? Outlook is bleak at this point.

And I have no real complaints. Travis and I just passed the 15 month mark. We're still going strong. No big fights. Work is going well. I'm getting 40+ hours between the two jobs. Should not be unhappy.... but I know something is off.

Then, it's when that something starts to invade my thinking... and makes me overthink. Overanalyze everything. Why isn't this happening? Why can't it? What am I doing wrong? etc... >.<

Any suggestions? Advice?

Have you been there?

Still Going....

Hey there readers,

I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for that. I've been busy, busy, busy... Okay, not so much as busy as working A LOT.

Wal*Mart has been going well. There was a while there where I wasn't getting as many hours as I wanted because they were "cracking down" and limiting all the part-timers to their 32 hours.... But now it's "Christmas Season" so there are more hours available and I will be working approximately 40 hours there per week for the next couple of months. This is will be great for saving up the money I need to.

Then, there's Things Remembered. It's getting a lot better now. I was so nervous when I started, but I'm able to lead sales and bring in the numbers pretty well. I've been assigned to work all day Sundays... so being there for more than a handful of hours at a time helps. :D For example, yesterday I made 281% of our goal! Oh yes. haha I actually really like engraving things. It gives me some sort of creative outlet since I haven't been able to sit down and paint or draw.

Which.... I'm really sad about. I tried really hard to stick with the 30 Day Drawing Challenge... and I failed. Horribly. I ended up stopping after day... 11... or 12. Something like that. I think I wasn't able to think of what to do for one so then I skipped it that day and said I would do it the next day... Well, we know how that turned out, don't we? :( *heavy sigh* Bleh. Even now, I want to draw and paint, but my body and mind is just too tired. :( Gr.

Anyway.... what else? OOooo, Travis and I got a bed frame for our bed... FINALLY! haha It's so beautiful! It's one of those almost antique looking ones... solid wood and sturdy. (Pictures soon) A couple of downers... It came without the screws to put it together and I realized that we need a box spring. Sooo, for now we're going to use a piece of plywood until we're able to afford the box spring.

Yea... that's really all that's new lately. Thanks for tuning in!



Stay Tuned!