Things are happening on the job search front. Ted has 4 interviews lined up. Anyone who has been unemployed knows that it's a great pinnacle just to get to the interview. It's hard to get noticed these days in a sea of resumes. Many people will tell you "it's who you know". I always thought that sounded so exclusive and didn't really believe it, but I do believe that if a hiring manager can get a referral, they will more likely pursue that person first. There is less risk to hire someone you know, or someone who you trust knows, than to hire someone you don't know from Adam. All of our interviews came from knowing someone who referred us (or actually knowing the hiring manager as is the case at Ted's ex-job). Ted's been telling EVERYONE that he was laid off. At first, I was like, "Aren't you embarrassed? Isn't this humbling?"...."I'm filling the funnel", he said. Huh?
"It's a sales term. You pursue as much as you can, hoping something will stick", he said. You see, Ted's sales experience has been extremely helpful in looking for a job, only the product he's selling now is himself. He has two interviews tomorrow. One with AT&T over the phone for an account executive selling to businesses, and the other is a face to face with his ex-cable company for the same type of position. Then he has one Tuesday with AT&T for another position that was doing the same thing he did before (negotiating service agreements with apartment complex owners). The last one will be a phone interview for a pharmaceutical sales position. Phone interviews are popular because phone skills are important in sales.
Ted and I are excited. The funnel is filling! We almost feel overwhelmed with the possibilities...but who knows which ones will stick. We'll be happy to have a choice between two. This is when you just pray. You pray that God makes it obvious what direction you are supposed to go in. I find that if you just wait, the options become slimmer and then somehow you feel a peace at a certain place. Either it's the people you meet, that make you feel like that company is a comfortable fit, or it's just a feeling....or it's a negative experience that makes you rule one direction out. So we'll just wait and see.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Better Than a Massage?
I love a clean house. I enjoy the process too. There is something very gratifying about taking something messy and making it clean. A clean house makes me feel good, inside and out. It makes me feel uncluttered and unburdened. I would love to be an organizer on Mission Organization and watch the client praise the end result. Cleaning is so controllable. If only I had the control to do it more often. The kids went to Parent's Day Out today, so it was my mission to get the house in tip-top shape. First, I focused on the kitchen: did the dishes, got rid of the clutter on the counter, wiped all the counters and table, and swept the floor. Ahhhhh...nothing like clutterless counters. It's rare in my house. I then went into the Family Room and put all the toys back into the lidded wicker basket that Mary loves to dump. I took a vacuum to that room. So much better! Next was the worse room in the house. But I decided to call my mom and go to lunch first. She was a happy participant. We went to the bread company where I had my latest favorite "lemon artichoke chicken panini". Doesn't that sound delicious? It was! I shared my house cleaning mission with my mom and guess what? She wanted to help! What a great mom. I told her about the loads and loads of laundry on my bedroom floor. Clean laundry, but unfolded. My mom helped me fold and put away approximately 3 loads of laundry! It's better than a massage, it's better than a spa treatment. It's free! (actually, some people pay for it) It's exhilarating! After that, I went through 3 bags of hand-me-down clothes. Those can tend to sit for a while...but now they have been properly sorted and stored away. I feel more ready for my weekend. I'm really looking forward to it.
Monday, November 27, 2006
A Tiring Morning
Whew! I am craaaabbbby today. What has put me in this mood? I don't know. Who ever really knows how we get to these places? Ted let me sleep in a little (7:15 am instead of the regular 6:30am when the first child gets up). So I guess my day started off good. But then different elements came in to make it frustrating and I must have been on a mushy foundation to begin with because I feel like a weak, negative woman. For some reason I really wanted to get the bathrooms cleaned first thing this morning. They've been bugging me and have been needing a good cleaning for a while now. I started on my first bathroom (1/2 bath...easy one) when Mary decided to "help". This meant she needed her own scrubbing pad. I proceed to get her one. Then I notice she is getting her pad soaked under the running water and then slops it on everything she wants to "wash". My socks get drenched as I walked around the floor while working on the bathroom. Ted "senses" (hears my loud, guttural cries of frustration and Mary's cries as I try to shoo her away from the bathroom), and steps in to rescue me by grabbing Mary and whisking her from the room.
Now that she is under his watchful care, and I am behind the shut door of my bedroom, I move on to the master bath. As I'm cleaning the bathroom, I'm reminded that my parents and in-laws will be using it this coming weekend while Ted and I go on a Marriage Encounter. They will each take a night watching the kids. I scrub with renewed vigor now that my cleaning has a bigger purpose. I clean the baseboards, the floors, the shower, and wipe down the door (darn those crayola marks that won't come off!). As a reward, I take a shower in my sparkling, clean shower.
I come out of my room with renewed confidence! After all, I had two clean bathrooms, along with my own clean self and was ready to face the day. That should make me happy, right? I relieve Ted and decide that since Mary is going to be clingy, I will just sit with her on the couch. I take my new Catechism and a highlighter because I think this will be a good time to prepare for my first meeting with my CRHP group studying the Catechism. Before I start the introduction, Mary says she wants a "crayon" too. She has already grabbed "her" own book (our Magnificat) and is ready to do what I'm doing. I go get her a highlighter, praising myself on being flexible and letting her mark up a book that will be finished at the end of the month anyway. As I start reading, she is happily highlighting away. Mary loves to color. Anything. Ted and I will often joke about this. We'll say she is making her own notes and will pretend she has something important to say. We'll especially do this when she is marking up one of our own papers. Recently, Ted made a chart of his monthly sales compared to his quota for each month this past year. It looked really important. Mary scribbled all over it. I brought it to Ted and told him Mary had some thoughts on the subject. It brings a good laugh. Anyway, I digress. So Mary decides she is board with her book and wants to color mine. She reaches across and swipes my page with a big, pink, highlighted stroke. *sigh* I can't even read!! I push my Catechism away with frustration.
Mary gets bored and starts doing her usual calisthenics over my legs. She falls back and bumps her forehead on the edge of the coffee table. I curse to myself as a see a raised ridge already forming, knowing that I'll have to put off her 2 year old portraits for yet another week (they've already been put off a couple of times for various marks on her face).
While I sit with Mary in my lap, stewing over my lack of freedom, Ben comes upstairs with his legs spread apart like one of those kids who wears corrective shoes with a pole connecting the two feet (remember those?). Anyway, he waddles in with a big wet spot on his pants that goes down to his knees and even up to his belly. "Mommy I pooped!", he says. I take him back to the biggest bathroom that will handle this mess...my newly cleaned master bath. At first I delicately try to strip him, keeping myself away from the mess, but soon found that was impossible. Pushing out the poop caused a flood of urine so he was drenched with both. The poop was so mushy it had exploded from his underpants up his lower back. And as I peeled off the layers, the poop slides all the way down his legs, smearing the back of them with a thick layer. YUCK. Even Ben was holding his nose, it smelled so bad. Mary had to come in and watch of course. She has to be a part of the action, ALWAYS. She often makes her little observatory comments like, "Ben poop" and "That's messy", etc., etc. I should have thrown him directly into the tub after that, but I knew that Mary would have to jump in with him and I didn't want to deal with that. Instead, I sudsed up a washcloth and drenched him with it to clean him up as best as I could. I threw his underwear in the toilet to soak. While I'm working away on Ben, Mary decides to flush the toilet..."NO!!!" I yell. I saved Ben's underwear before it got flushed away. Ted comes in again to rescue me. Sometimes I tell myself how nice it would be to sit at the computer looking for a job all morning like he does. It looks so peaceful. But I know I'm telling myself lies in the heat of frustration. He takes Mary out of the room (once again) so I can finish the task at hand. Ben is crying and disgusted by the whole thing. My bathroom now had a new sent that replaced the clean, fresh one. It wreaked with the smell of poop.
After cleaning Ben up, I washed my hands as good as I could, but nothing could erase the faint smell of poop on my hands. I resumed my position on the couch with Mary. Ted walks in the room and tells me that his friend from the old job wanted to go to lunch. Ted is well aware of my poor mood and was treading very carefully. "Whatever, that's fine", I say...knowing that my tone was negative and downtrodden. He promises to give me a break this afternoon before quickly taking a shower and heading out the door before I can change my mind. Not that I would. I know he needs to get out just as much as I do.
I fixed my lunch as well as the kids. I confirmed Ben's order of Peanut Butter and Jelly, cut in squares instead of the usual triangles. When I put it before him, he said, "I wanted triangles!" and refused to eat it. I told him he was not getting triangles when he asked for squares and he needed to eat it the way it was. He then cried and said he wanted a hot dog. Not today...I thought to myself. I have nerves of steel and I am NOT budging. "No, you need to eat your peanut butter and jelly". Crying ensued. I listed through my whole lunch as waves of the poop smell still radiated from Ben. He left the table and went downstairs. I ate the rest of my meal in a grumbly mood. Ben comes back upstairs and wants a brownie. "Not until you eat your sandwich", I say. I cries some more...until finally backing from my former resolve, I make him the cotton pickin' hot dog just so he would eat something. All is well and peace is restored. And somehow, blogging about it makes me feel much better. Even though, this whole time has been interrupted filling up sippy cups, making a hot dog, changing Mary's poopy diaper (looked just like Ben's...mushy and orangish), and watching Mary remove all the contents of my purse and doing who knows what to my Palm. It was worth it.
Now that she is under his watchful care, and I am behind the shut door of my bedroom, I move on to the master bath. As I'm cleaning the bathroom, I'm reminded that my parents and in-laws will be using it this coming weekend while Ted and I go on a Marriage Encounter. They will each take a night watching the kids. I scrub with renewed vigor now that my cleaning has a bigger purpose. I clean the baseboards, the floors, the shower, and wipe down the door (darn those crayola marks that won't come off!). As a reward, I take a shower in my sparkling, clean shower.
I come out of my room with renewed confidence! After all, I had two clean bathrooms, along with my own clean self and was ready to face the day. That should make me happy, right? I relieve Ted and decide that since Mary is going to be clingy, I will just sit with her on the couch. I take my new Catechism and a highlighter because I think this will be a good time to prepare for my first meeting with my CRHP group studying the Catechism. Before I start the introduction, Mary says she wants a "crayon" too. She has already grabbed "her" own book (our Magnificat) and is ready to do what I'm doing. I go get her a highlighter, praising myself on being flexible and letting her mark up a book that will be finished at the end of the month anyway. As I start reading, she is happily highlighting away. Mary loves to color. Anything. Ted and I will often joke about this. We'll say she is making her own notes and will pretend she has something important to say. We'll especially do this when she is marking up one of our own papers. Recently, Ted made a chart of his monthly sales compared to his quota for each month this past year. It looked really important. Mary scribbled all over it. I brought it to Ted and told him Mary had some thoughts on the subject. It brings a good laugh. Anyway, I digress. So Mary decides she is board with her book and wants to color mine. She reaches across and swipes my page with a big, pink, highlighted stroke. *sigh* I can't even read!! I push my Catechism away with frustration.
Mary gets bored and starts doing her usual calisthenics over my legs. She falls back and bumps her forehead on the edge of the coffee table. I curse to myself as a see a raised ridge already forming, knowing that I'll have to put off her 2 year old portraits for yet another week (they've already been put off a couple of times for various marks on her face).
While I sit with Mary in my lap, stewing over my lack of freedom, Ben comes upstairs with his legs spread apart like one of those kids who wears corrective shoes with a pole connecting the two feet (remember those?). Anyway, he waddles in with a big wet spot on his pants that goes down to his knees and even up to his belly. "Mommy I pooped!", he says. I take him back to the biggest bathroom that will handle this mess...my newly cleaned master bath. At first I delicately try to strip him, keeping myself away from the mess, but soon found that was impossible. Pushing out the poop caused a flood of urine so he was drenched with both. The poop was so mushy it had exploded from his underpants up his lower back. And as I peeled off the layers, the poop slides all the way down his legs, smearing the back of them with a thick layer. YUCK. Even Ben was holding his nose, it smelled so bad. Mary had to come in and watch of course. She has to be a part of the action, ALWAYS. She often makes her little observatory comments like, "Ben poop" and "That's messy", etc., etc. I should have thrown him directly into the tub after that, but I knew that Mary would have to jump in with him and I didn't want to deal with that. Instead, I sudsed up a washcloth and drenched him with it to clean him up as best as I could. I threw his underwear in the toilet to soak. While I'm working away on Ben, Mary decides to flush the toilet..."NO!!!" I yell. I saved Ben's underwear before it got flushed away. Ted comes in again to rescue me. Sometimes I tell myself how nice it would be to sit at the computer looking for a job all morning like he does. It looks so peaceful. But I know I'm telling myself lies in the heat of frustration. He takes Mary out of the room (once again) so I can finish the task at hand. Ben is crying and disgusted by the whole thing. My bathroom now had a new sent that replaced the clean, fresh one. It wreaked with the smell of poop.
After cleaning Ben up, I washed my hands as good as I could, but nothing could erase the faint smell of poop on my hands. I resumed my position on the couch with Mary. Ted walks in the room and tells me that his friend from the old job wanted to go to lunch. Ted is well aware of my poor mood and was treading very carefully. "Whatever, that's fine", I say...knowing that my tone was negative and downtrodden. He promises to give me a break this afternoon before quickly taking a shower and heading out the door before I can change my mind. Not that I would. I know he needs to get out just as much as I do.
I fixed my lunch as well as the kids. I confirmed Ben's order of Peanut Butter and Jelly, cut in squares instead of the usual triangles. When I put it before him, he said, "I wanted triangles!" and refused to eat it. I told him he was not getting triangles when he asked for squares and he needed to eat it the way it was. He then cried and said he wanted a hot dog. Not today...I thought to myself. I have nerves of steel and I am NOT budging. "No, you need to eat your peanut butter and jelly". Crying ensued. I listed through my whole lunch as waves of the poop smell still radiated from Ben. He left the table and went downstairs. I ate the rest of my meal in a grumbly mood. Ben comes back upstairs and wants a brownie. "Not until you eat your sandwich", I say. I cries some more...until finally backing from my former resolve, I make him the cotton pickin' hot dog just so he would eat something. All is well and peace is restored. And somehow, blogging about it makes me feel much better. Even though, this whole time has been interrupted filling up sippy cups, making a hot dog, changing Mary's poopy diaper (looked just like Ben's...mushy and orangish), and watching Mary remove all the contents of my purse and doing who knows what to my Palm. It was worth it.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
No Good Thing Does He Withhold
Yesterday's scripture on my daily scripture calendar really hit home. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Psalm 84:11-12.
With Ted's current state of unemployment, it felt good to know that no good thing will be withheld from us. Ted's starting to let some of his hurt feelings surface. He doesn't get carried away...he'll just voice his frustration. His anger is not with God, but the people who let him go. How could this happen? He worked so hard! Is this the payment he gets? You could say that he just didn't feel it was fair...that he was...blameless. The next day gave us this scripture message. In the shower this morning (all of my good thinking is done in the shower), I was pondering the whole idea of "God doesn't make bad things happen to people", he allows them to happen. "God always works good for those who love the Lord." I've heard these statements a lot. And I believe them. I believe that some things may happen that seem bad, but God always has the greater good in mind. I do think it happens to go well with my optimistic, hopeful nature to believe these statements, too. I simply want to believe them with all I have.
When a bad thing happens, I always try to figure out why. Don't they also say, "Everything happens for a reason"?. I hate it when people say this to someone to make them feel better because I think it is a week, pat answer. Something you don't want to hear when you are truly saddened by something. However, I must really believe that statement, because I'm trying to analyze God's big picture to figure out why this is happening to us. Yes, me in my measly, small, human mind...I'm trying to figure out God's big picture. One of the things I've concluded is that maybe he didn't want us at that cable company anymore. He figured there was a better place for Ted...so he allowed some new VP to come in and lay off, at will, who he deemed wasn't necessary for the company's success. When I think of what happened, I feel hurt, but when I think of God being the orchestrator of the event, then it feels like we are walking a path that God is paving. And that feels much better. So I'm going to continue to think of it that way. We don't know where it's going...but I have to believe it is good. Because God is good. And "no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless".
With Ted's current state of unemployment, it felt good to know that no good thing will be withheld from us. Ted's starting to let some of his hurt feelings surface. He doesn't get carried away...he'll just voice his frustration. His anger is not with God, but the people who let him go. How could this happen? He worked so hard! Is this the payment he gets? You could say that he just didn't feel it was fair...that he was...blameless. The next day gave us this scripture message. In the shower this morning (all of my good thinking is done in the shower), I was pondering the whole idea of "God doesn't make bad things happen to people", he allows them to happen. "God always works good for those who love the Lord." I've heard these statements a lot. And I believe them. I believe that some things may happen that seem bad, but God always has the greater good in mind. I do think it happens to go well with my optimistic, hopeful nature to believe these statements, too. I simply want to believe them with all I have.
When a bad thing happens, I always try to figure out why. Don't they also say, "Everything happens for a reason"?. I hate it when people say this to someone to make them feel better because I think it is a week, pat answer. Something you don't want to hear when you are truly saddened by something. However, I must really believe that statement, because I'm trying to analyze God's big picture to figure out why this is happening to us. Yes, me in my measly, small, human mind...I'm trying to figure out God's big picture. One of the things I've concluded is that maybe he didn't want us at that cable company anymore. He figured there was a better place for Ted...so he allowed some new VP to come in and lay off, at will, who he deemed wasn't necessary for the company's success. When I think of what happened, I feel hurt, but when I think of God being the orchestrator of the event, then it feels like we are walking a path that God is paving. And that feels much better. So I'm going to continue to think of it that way. We don't know where it's going...but I have to believe it is good. Because God is good. And "no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless".
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Trying On Some New Clothes
Every now and then, don't you like to try a new look? I really was never into that hot pink look, but I didn't have to look at it as much as you do. When I type, my screen looks different and I'm not actually viewing my blog. Blogger has some new templates I thought I would try on for size. It might change a little as I go, but this is it for now. I rarely have time to play with these things so I don't have cool features like other people do. I wish I could play with it more. Some day I will. I guess. I'm really just into the functionality of the whole thing. I like to be able to express myself.
We kinda had a bummer day yesterday. Ted learned yesterday, that signing that "non-complete clause" is really going to put a thorn in our sides. He talked to a lawyer and found out it is a binding contract that holds up in court. So let me get this straight...you take away my husband's job before the holidays and then you are going to tell him that he can't go into the field that is our livelihood?? Is this fair? He had to sign it in order to get our severance. We needed that! So we were bummed. The one job he really wants is a big corporation who is expanding into Ted's old company's field. He's had two interviews with a smaller company and they seem to like Ted. We aren't really interested, but he's trying to keep all doors open. Anyway, he has a good rapport with this guy at the smaller company and the guy asked him to sign a note that says he is not under a non compete clause. Ted told him he was under a non compete clause. At first the guy said to not worry about it and they'll proceed with interviewing until things get serious and then they'll discuss it some more. Well, we found out today that he would not be hired unless he signed that note. So basically, Ted would have to lie so the company can cover their own butts. Ted asked the guy what they do as a company when their ex-employees go to competitors. He said they don't do anything unless they notice the ex-employers are soliciting their customers. Then they give them a warning...and probably pursue it further after that.
So this gets a little harry. It's almost like we have no choice but to go into a separate field or go back to his old employer. If he did go back, he would continue looking...but still...we feel backed into a corner and it was THEM that put US in this situation! So why would we go back? For several reasons, 1) a paycheck! 2) familiarity--knows the company and product well 3) sales and not management--more secure...less likely to be laid off again 4) would be able to keep tenure and vacation 5) His would-be boss is his friend 6) If his old employer is working so hard on streamlining...might it be a more stable company? 7) Ted liked working there
Through out all of this, we feel very firmly that God is leading us every step of the way...not in a showy "aren't we such good Christians? way", but in a matter of fact "this is just what we believe in the core of our beings" way. It feels good to know that we aren't on our own in all of this. We don't have to figure it all out for ourselves. God has it figured out and we just have to hope we don't get in His way. That's why we don't shut doors. Something that might seem ridiculous in our mind to pursue, just might be exactly what God has in mind. For example, for some reason we keep getting leads and information on the Pharmaceutical Sales field. Ted has no experience in that arena and it doesn't seem like a normal fit for Ted, but we're getting an awful lot of help and information from people in the field. Because the "door" on competitors seems to be shutting because of this non-compete clause, it's opening the door on the Pharmaceutical Sales arena. So far, this is what we're looking at:
1) Go back to old cable employer and work for friend
2) Work for competition...but in constant fear that you are doing something bad and you could get in trouble. Feel like it's unethically correct?
3) Go into different field (Pharmaceutical Sales?) Could always come back to cable industry after one year expires (when non-compete is no longer in effect)
There is one problem with #1. Man, this is complicated. His friend that would be his boss is really wanting Ted to work as a contractor for a new company he wants to start. He's come into a lot of many from inheriting his dad's business and wants to start his own company while working for his current company. HUH?? Talk about conflict of interest! No way! This would be like Ted doing #2, but in my eyes, worse. I spoke up, of course, and Ted listened. I think he sees the same pitfalls I do. We hope his friend/boss won't slow down #1 so the friend/boss can pursue his own dreams of his new business that heavily involves Ted selling for him. This just makes me want to go for #3. Are you confused yet?? I am. Ted is meeting Sunday night with the friend/boss about this new company venture thing. He's drawn up a business plan and is really serious. Great. I'll keep you updated.
We kinda had a bummer day yesterday. Ted learned yesterday, that signing that "non-complete clause" is really going to put a thorn in our sides. He talked to a lawyer and found out it is a binding contract that holds up in court. So let me get this straight...you take away my husband's job before the holidays and then you are going to tell him that he can't go into the field that is our livelihood?? Is this fair? He had to sign it in order to get our severance. We needed that! So we were bummed. The one job he really wants is a big corporation who is expanding into Ted's old company's field. He's had two interviews with a smaller company and they seem to like Ted. We aren't really interested, but he's trying to keep all doors open. Anyway, he has a good rapport with this guy at the smaller company and the guy asked him to sign a note that says he is not under a non compete clause. Ted told him he was under a non compete clause. At first the guy said to not worry about it and they'll proceed with interviewing until things get serious and then they'll discuss it some more. Well, we found out today that he would not be hired unless he signed that note. So basically, Ted would have to lie so the company can cover their own butts. Ted asked the guy what they do as a company when their ex-employees go to competitors. He said they don't do anything unless they notice the ex-employers are soliciting their customers. Then they give them a warning...and probably pursue it further after that.
So this gets a little harry. It's almost like we have no choice but to go into a separate field or go back to his old employer. If he did go back, he would continue looking...but still...we feel backed into a corner and it was THEM that put US in this situation! So why would we go back? For several reasons, 1) a paycheck! 2) familiarity--knows the company and product well 3) sales and not management--more secure...less likely to be laid off again 4) would be able to keep tenure and vacation 5) His would-be boss is his friend 6) If his old employer is working so hard on streamlining...might it be a more stable company? 7) Ted liked working there
Through out all of this, we feel very firmly that God is leading us every step of the way...not in a showy "aren't we such good Christians? way", but in a matter of fact "this is just what we believe in the core of our beings" way. It feels good to know that we aren't on our own in all of this. We don't have to figure it all out for ourselves. God has it figured out and we just have to hope we don't get in His way. That's why we don't shut doors. Something that might seem ridiculous in our mind to pursue, just might be exactly what God has in mind. For example, for some reason we keep getting leads and information on the Pharmaceutical Sales field. Ted has no experience in that arena and it doesn't seem like a normal fit for Ted, but we're getting an awful lot of help and information from people in the field. Because the "door" on competitors seems to be shutting because of this non-compete clause, it's opening the door on the Pharmaceutical Sales arena. So far, this is what we're looking at:
1) Go back to old cable employer and work for friend
2) Work for competition...but in constant fear that you are doing something bad and you could get in trouble. Feel like it's unethically correct?
3) Go into different field (Pharmaceutical Sales?) Could always come back to cable industry after one year expires (when non-compete is no longer in effect)
There is one problem with #1. Man, this is complicated. His friend that would be his boss is really wanting Ted to work as a contractor for a new company he wants to start. He's come into a lot of many from inheriting his dad's business and wants to start his own company while working for his current company. HUH?? Talk about conflict of interest! No way! This would be like Ted doing #2, but in my eyes, worse. I spoke up, of course, and Ted listened. I think he sees the same pitfalls I do. We hope his friend/boss won't slow down #1 so the friend/boss can pursue his own dreams of his new business that heavily involves Ted selling for him. This just makes me want to go for #3. Are you confused yet?? I am. Ted is meeting Sunday night with the friend/boss about this new company venture thing. He's drawn up a business plan and is really serious. Great. I'll keep you updated.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Back from the Crop!!
I'm back! My crop weekend was awesome. I didn't know the people really well and that turned out to be a big plus...because I was ON A MISSION! Instead of it being a big, chatty, fun weekend with the girls, it was a big, croppin', productive weekend with my albums! OK. I'll stop with the exclamation points...I just love them so much!!! :-) So what did I accomplish? I wanted to come back and report some great numbers to you, and I do have some great numbers. *Drumroll* Ben's album? I had left Ben's album off at one year and now he is caught up! Mary's album? I left her's at her baptism (which before a week ago, her album wasn't even started), and now? It's caught up! And my family album...I worked on that one last and managed to go from October to December of 2005. If you count the 200 pictures placed into Mary's album, 280 into Ben's and 54 that were put into the family album, you have a grand total of 534 pictures that were cropped and put into albums!! And I have 860 to go, which seems like an awful lot, but I made a huge dent. My next mission will be to catch up Sam and Abby who are both 2 years behind and the family album which is 11 months behind. I'm hoping to find some way to regularly work on this. I'll continue cropping the pictures after the little ones go down and that should help.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A Snapshot
I don't know if this picture will show up. It's not showing up right now, but I'm going to try it anyway. I needed an updated picture for my profile because my hair is much longer. Anyway, let's get to the snapshot.What's at the top of my to-do list?
--Make huge strides on my crop weekend this weekend, by catching up with my albums
--Crop the rest of my family photos before leaving tomorrow tonight
--Catch up on laundry
--Bring lunch to my sister, Lisa tomorrow at school
What have I accomplished?
--I've cropped all of Ben and Mary's pictures and half of the family album pictures
--I've cleaned out a drawer in my dresser that, for two years, collected Mary's memorabilia (from birth, baptism, etc), portrait studio pictures and other odds and ends. I finally set aside a "special box" for Mary like all the other kids have, and her memorabilia has been properly stored in it. I separated all the portraits and stored them in each kids boxes (rubbermaid storage containers that are kept in their closets).
--I cleaned out another "temporary holding spot" full of stuff to put in the kids' special boxes (report cards, Iowa testing results, artwork).
--Survived the first two weeks of Ted being layed off. Our Living Room has become the “Command Center” for Ted. The computer Ben usually plays on has become Ted’s and has been updated with all of his business contacts and other contacts for potential job opportunities. He’s added a lamp near the desk to see better and makes all his important phone calls from there. He has a phone interview with a telecommunications company tomorrow morning at 9am. It will be an hour long. I will have to vanish with the kids to the basement so Ted can pretend he is a serious, potential employee instead of a Dad at home with his rambunctious children. He has another interview on Monday with a head hunter. Ted has impressed me with how he has been handling everything. He seems to be focused on the big task at hand, finding a job. He spends most of his mornings on the phone and sending out e-mail. In the afternoons he helps around the house. In the beginning, he seemed a little antsy, a little lost as to where to start. Now he his paths are layed and it’s like we are sending out fishing lines in all different directions. I asked Ted if this was overwhelming to one minute be talking to someone about pharmaceuticals and the next to someone about telecommunications. He said he just feels like he's trying them all and waiting to see which one sticks. Mmmmmm...interesting method.
What's bugging me?
--I feel a little weird continuing with adopting a needy family to buy presents for this year because Ted doesn’t have a job. What do you stop and what do you continue? I feel like these people are worse off than our family even considering our circumstances, therefore we should do it. I didn’t hesitate to buy for my own family (luckily most of the shopping was already finished), so why shouldn’t I buy for them? We have worked really hard not to eat out and do any other “frivolous spending” so, in all this cutting back, it feels weird to step out of that mode and buy for them. But I just listened to the Gospel this past Sunday that talked about the poor widow giving everything she had when the rich people only gave a small portion of what they had. That pretty much affirmed we were doing the right thing by keeping the commitment.
What's my latest obsession?
--Steady cropping in the evenings. It’s working! I’m getting caught up and I’ll be ready to put all the cropped pictures in the albums. We’ll see how many of them actually make it in this weekend. My goal is to catch up Ben’s, Mary’s and the Family’s albums.
What's been making me happy?
--Having Ted around is so nice. Even when he is busy working, it's just nice to have him around.
--I'm glad Ted was in sales. It seems like you can take sales experience to many different types of jobs and Ted is discovering many options. The last time he was layed off (yes...this happened before...eight years ago) we had no idea where to go because he wanted to switch fields. He interviewed for a sales job with no sales experience. I'm so glad they hired him despite this. Now he has a valuable and adaptable skill. Let's hope he can put it to use again!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Scrapbooking...By The Numbers
I don't know if you know this, but I'm a numbers gal. I'm not as much as person that enjoys calculating, as I am a person who enjoys the meaning of the number itself. I love averages and percentages because they tell me something. Numbers are black and white. You can make them lie if you want, but typically they don't. I decided to get some information by finding the "numbers" on my scrapbooking. They are sobering. Please read on if you dare:
10 --# of years I have been cropping
10--# of family albums completed
12 1/2--# of family albums that would be completed if I was caught up
40 --average number of pages I put in an album (80 sides)
5--average number of pictures I put on one side
1567--# of pictures I took in 2005
715--# of pictures I printed in 2005 for my family album
54--% of pictures I printed out of the pictures I took in 2005
1383--# of pictures I have taken so far in 2006
370--# of pictures I actually printed for my family album in 2006 so far
27--% of pictures I printed out of the ones I took in 2006
6-12--# of months each family album holds
5--# of years Sam's first album holds
4--# of years Abby's first album holds
2--# of years Sam's second album will hold when I'm caught up
1 1/2--# of years Abby's second album will hold when I'm caught up
1--# of years I'm behind in my family album
2--# of years I'm behind in each of my kids albums
1340--# of pictures that are printed and need to be put in albums
280--# of Ben's pictures
260--# of Abby's pictures
200--# of Sam's pictures (eyeballed it...was sick of counting pictures)
200--# of Mary's pictures (I started her album last night! 12 sides complete!!)
400--# of Family pictures
12--# of sides I completes at my last cropnight with distractions in 3 1/2 hours
15--approx # of minutes it took me to complete each album page (side).
65--# of hours it will take me to catch up figuring 1340 pictures at 5 pics a page at 15 minutes a page
I know. I went a little overboard. I can't wait to crop this coming weekend and bring some of those "behind" numbers down and some of those "finished" numbers up. I know I won't be all caught up after the crop weekend, but I hope to make a huge dent in it. I will come back and report all new numbers!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Ted Home, Babysitting, Cropping...
This morning, I slept in until 8am! I could get used to this! I wake up and the dishwasher is running, Ben is happily playing downstairs and... where is Mary? I remember not too long ago when I was awakened every morning with Mary climbing all over me. With Ted at home, the landscape is so different! Yesterday, the garage was our focus. It had leaves all over the floor of it, cobwebs on the window, bikes everywhere and stuff in our walkway. The night before we discussed how we'd like to change it...hang the bikes on the wall, move some low shelving that took up valuable space, move the little refrigerator closer to the door, etc., etc. So yesterday, we were ready to work. We kept Mary home from Parent's Day Out because of a nasty cold and low grade fever so I couldn't be as helpful as I had planned, but Ted worked on it most of the day. Today, the garage is fully swept, everything is off the floor and it looks so much better. I feel so much better. Next is the storage room. These are the two places in my house that I put off. The storage room is easy to put off because I don't see it much. I can forget about how much junk is in there and how the space could be better used and organized. We've never had time like this with Ted around. As much as we don't like the fact he is unemployed, we love having him at home!!
Today, Ted is going to run up to his former place of employment, turn in his signed agreement about the terms of his severance, turn in some mileage, and meet some friends for lunch. I'm glad he's getting out. I don't want him to feel like I'm totally strapping him down with house projects! He's waiting to hear when his interview will be for the other position in the company. It should be sometime this week. He had called yesterday and talked to his friend (the hiring manager), and he said that the VP (that layed off Ted) told them to go ahead and bring Ted in for an interview while they were waiting for the job to get officially reposted. He seems to really want Ted back on, which is just really confusing to me. Even if he gets employed at the same job again, we will always have one eye looking out for something else with more of a future.
On to other topics...I can't believe that in one week, I will be watching my neice for the first time as my sister goes back to work! It is very hard for her to deal with this. She really wants to stay at home but they can't afford it right now. It's still their goal. Every Friday I will watch little Leah and I'm curious to see how this goes. I'm anxious to have this time with her and I think it will be different but good to have a little baby for one day a week. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but this should work fine.
On the crop front...almost every night after the little ones go down, I'm getting out my box of pictures that are all organized, and cropping them. I'm cropping for five albums at a time: one for each child and one family album for me. I'm VERY behind. I've done maybe one or two crop weekends since Ben and Mary were born but that's about it. Cropping took a low priority when they came along. I always told myself when I was bothered by this, it'll be there when I'm ready. I'M READY! I'm using my upcoming crop weekend as an excuse to buckle down and get my pictures ready for the weekend. Here's my method: When I order my pictures online, I order one for my album, and I make extra copies for all the ones that I want in each kids albums. I make thumbprint printouts (black and white, because I only need it for reference) of all the pictures with the date printed under each one (with a digital camera, this is easy). When I get my pictures, I divide them up by album with little labled dividers and they are stored in a fabric covered box. In this box, I keep scissors, small circle and oval cutters, a small cutting mat, and a picture trimmer along with the photos themselves. Whenever I want to crop, I grab this box and move it to a table (lately it's been my coffee table in the family room...I like cropping with people around and watching T.V.). I shape all my pictures based on the picture. I cut out any extra space and I make circles and ovals out of anything that's conducive to it. A page looks better with the softness of at least one circle or oval. I don't corner round right now because it takes too much time. While I'm catching up, I'm keeping the corners the way they are. Once my pictures are all cropped, I wait for a crop night or crop weekend to put them on pages. This takes up more space and I think it's a pain to unpack and pack every time, so I like to have bigger blocks of time to do this part. It goes so quickly because my pictures are all ready! I'm not a fancy cropper. I use colored paper for accents and I journal a little with dates and names when necessary. That's it. I rarely use stickers or extra embellishments. I just want to get the page done and I really want the focus to be on the pictures, not the other stuff. On a crop weekend, I can get so much done because of my simplistic approach. My crop weekend is in a week and a half. I'll let you know how much I get done. Mary's album hasn't even been started yet...*cringe*.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
"A Separation of Employment"
That's what they called it anyway. I call it a layoff, but they said technically it's not a layoff. A layoff is when you can you could possibly be rehired for the same job. A "separation of employment" is not being fired, but being "let go". And this is what happened to Ted just 2 days ago. He came home from work on Mary's birthday and called me into our bedroom and shut the door behind him. Since we hardly shut doors in our house I would normally begin to question what was going on but he blurted it out before I had time to think. He told me he got layed off. What??? Oh my gosh. It was the last thing I expected him to say.
The past month has been stressful for Ted at work. It's a long story that I won't go into here, but basically they were questioning his pay structure and agreements made in the past on how they would handle commission on a couple of big deals. Well, Ted's boss, who documented this, moved on to another job in July. Ted's boss's boss got layed off about a month ago. He got a lot of questioning during that time with no one else to stand up for the decisions made. The VP who layed him off said this had nothing to do with his lay off and ended up paying him all the commissions that were witheld for 5 weeks. This is now our security blanket. The VP said it was nothing personal. He's a great employee (what does he know? he's not even been in the company that long!) but that he couldn't justify his salary in a management position where he only supervised 4 people. He told him he would give a good recommendation for any job he might be interested in, inside or outside of the company. I think, much to the surprise of the VP, Ted was very calm about the whole thing and said he understood.
You see, Ted has felt almost like things were too good to be true anyway. He used to do the job he eventually managed. He was the only one doing it and the first one in this region to do it. Originally, his job paid a low salary and commission was more than half of what he made. We welcomed the change to management so he could make a higher salary and not rely on commission so much. Everything seemed perfect. But to a new executive coming into the company it didn't make sense. There were other managers managing so many more people.
On paper, it was not justified. But Ted is so much more than what you see on paper. He's dependable, trustworthy, loyal, ethical and fair. All the things you want in an employee. I'm not saying this because I'm his wife. I really believe this. He was such a good boss to his people. His staff looked shocked when they found out. One girl cried. If you knew Ted, you would know why. He would be the last person you would think would be let go. There was a salesperson that he supervised that was a poor performer...a problem passed on to him. He was on a final written warning. Couldn't they have just demoted Ted and let go of him? There are so many things that don't make sense.
I thought of all of these things before I went to bed that night. And just cried. It didn't make sense. And then I remembered, people don't always make sense. If God is behind something, however, it always makes sense to Him. We may not know the plan...but it's there...and better laid out than anything we could think of with our small human minds. God does not lead us somewhere only to abandon us. He is with us ALWAYS. I truly believe this.
I still mourned his job that night. His baby that grew into a small department. All that knowledge almost feels like a waste now. I think my pride was crushed. I have so much pride for Ted and his job and how it has provided for our family. I am a stay at home mom because of his job. We have a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood...all thanks to his job. We have free cable, free high speed internet, discounted phone and his cell phone is a work phone paid for by the company. Fortunately, we get 4 months severance with full benefits including all the perks until the end of four months.
Here's the part that keeps us hopeful. There is a job opening for a Senior Account Executive that his good friend in the company is hiring for. Ted is totally qualified for the job and the salary is the same that Ted is making now without managing people! He called his friend and found out that they had the job posted and didn't like any of the people they interviewed. The posting expired and they were in the process of reposting. They said the job is his if he wants it. What a gift! The VP who let him go, sped up the paperwork to get it re-posted right away (I think he's operating under some guilt). As much as this seems like a sure thing, with all the right people supporting him, I know if God doesn't want it...it won't happen. We know from experience that sure things are not always sure things. So we'll see.
This all seems like a jumbled mess of thoughts. It's a weird place to be. I love having Ted at home with me, especially since we have a job prospect. We look at each other funny when we remember our situation and he's not getting ready to go to work. We don't usually take vacation unless we are on vacation or it's the holidays and it's crazy anyway. Having Ted home indefinately feels surreal. It's very relaxing right now. He's there to help me with the kids, chores, and carpool. I'm not living in a bubble. I know that this can get old if it goes on too long... that I could look at his presence as an irritant if he is not actively looking for a job. I've heard so many stories from other people. We don't know what will happen. The future is a big question mark. If he gets this job, then our change will be minimal. But he's open to changing companies if need be. This might be the opportunity. I believe that God uses situations like these to make us change something we normally wouldn't. We are praying that we do what He wants us to do and that He guides us to where He wants Ted to be.
We are trying to look at this time as opportunity to relax, and do some things around the house. We plan on cleaning a little bit of the storage room every day and getting into the garage on my "day off" tomorrow. I don't want to cram his time with housework, but I can already see him getting a little bored. However, my little mind of opportunity is dreaming up ways to make the most of this situation since I have someone who can watch the kids when I need it! Ted is thinking about things like going to the school masses, and eating lunch with the kids. I'm thinking about visiting the local boutique ("Yah, but you can't spend any money!"....my lovely neighbor reminds me), visiting my sister for lunch at the school she works...things we normally can't do easily. We're caught up on most of our doctor appointments, but we do have some dental visits in December we might move up because things work differently on Cobra.
Ultimately I understand why Ted was moved from his position, my one frustration was that I wish the reward he got for being a good employee would have been the company not letting him go until they relocated him somewhere else in the company. That would have shown Ted's worth. It's frustrating to see poor performers keep their jobs because they are more in line with the budget. Ted's not focusing on this part, however. He told me he tries not to. "If I think about it too much," he said, "I would get angry, and that won't do any good." Ha. I'm obviously not made of the stuff he's made of.
Well, I have to draw this long blog to a close, but if you read this and are a prayer, please pray that Ted is led in the right direction. Thank you!
One last thing, I'm having a problem with my spell checker lately (something to do with pop-ups), I apologize for any spelling errors. Also, this was written on the 4th and posted on the 6th (had to notify others first).
The past month has been stressful for Ted at work. It's a long story that I won't go into here, but basically they were questioning his pay structure and agreements made in the past on how they would handle commission on a couple of big deals. Well, Ted's boss, who documented this, moved on to another job in July. Ted's boss's boss got layed off about a month ago. He got a lot of questioning during that time with no one else to stand up for the decisions made. The VP who layed him off said this had nothing to do with his lay off and ended up paying him all the commissions that were witheld for 5 weeks. This is now our security blanket. The VP said it was nothing personal. He's a great employee (what does he know? he's not even been in the company that long!) but that he couldn't justify his salary in a management position where he only supervised 4 people. He told him he would give a good recommendation for any job he might be interested in, inside or outside of the company. I think, much to the surprise of the VP, Ted was very calm about the whole thing and said he understood.
You see, Ted has felt almost like things were too good to be true anyway. He used to do the job he eventually managed. He was the only one doing it and the first one in this region to do it. Originally, his job paid a low salary and commission was more than half of what he made. We welcomed the change to management so he could make a higher salary and not rely on commission so much. Everything seemed perfect. But to a new executive coming into the company it didn't make sense. There were other managers managing so many more people.
On paper, it was not justified. But Ted is so much more than what you see on paper. He's dependable, trustworthy, loyal, ethical and fair. All the things you want in an employee. I'm not saying this because I'm his wife. I really believe this. He was such a good boss to his people. His staff looked shocked when they found out. One girl cried. If you knew Ted, you would know why. He would be the last person you would think would be let go. There was a salesperson that he supervised that was a poor performer...a problem passed on to him. He was on a final written warning. Couldn't they have just demoted Ted and let go of him? There are so many things that don't make sense.
I thought of all of these things before I went to bed that night. And just cried. It didn't make sense. And then I remembered, people don't always make sense. If God is behind something, however, it always makes sense to Him. We may not know the plan...but it's there...and better laid out than anything we could think of with our small human minds. God does not lead us somewhere only to abandon us. He is with us ALWAYS. I truly believe this.
I still mourned his job that night. His baby that grew into a small department. All that knowledge almost feels like a waste now. I think my pride was crushed. I have so much pride for Ted and his job and how it has provided for our family. I am a stay at home mom because of his job. We have a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood...all thanks to his job. We have free cable, free high speed internet, discounted phone and his cell phone is a work phone paid for by the company. Fortunately, we get 4 months severance with full benefits including all the perks until the end of four months.
Here's the part that keeps us hopeful. There is a job opening for a Senior Account Executive that his good friend in the company is hiring for. Ted is totally qualified for the job and the salary is the same that Ted is making now without managing people! He called his friend and found out that they had the job posted and didn't like any of the people they interviewed. The posting expired and they were in the process of reposting. They said the job is his if he wants it. What a gift! The VP who let him go, sped up the paperwork to get it re-posted right away (I think he's operating under some guilt). As much as this seems like a sure thing, with all the right people supporting him, I know if God doesn't want it...it won't happen. We know from experience that sure things are not always sure things. So we'll see.
This all seems like a jumbled mess of thoughts. It's a weird place to be. I love having Ted at home with me, especially since we have a job prospect. We look at each other funny when we remember our situation and he's not getting ready to go to work. We don't usually take vacation unless we are on vacation or it's the holidays and it's crazy anyway. Having Ted home indefinately feels surreal. It's very relaxing right now. He's there to help me with the kids, chores, and carpool. I'm not living in a bubble. I know that this can get old if it goes on too long... that I could look at his presence as an irritant if he is not actively looking for a job. I've heard so many stories from other people. We don't know what will happen. The future is a big question mark. If he gets this job, then our change will be minimal. But he's open to changing companies if need be. This might be the opportunity. I believe that God uses situations like these to make us change something we normally wouldn't. We are praying that we do what He wants us to do and that He guides us to where He wants Ted to be.
We are trying to look at this time as opportunity to relax, and do some things around the house. We plan on cleaning a little bit of the storage room every day and getting into the garage on my "day off" tomorrow. I don't want to cram his time with housework, but I can already see him getting a little bored. However, my little mind of opportunity is dreaming up ways to make the most of this situation since I have someone who can watch the kids when I need it! Ted is thinking about things like going to the school masses, and eating lunch with the kids. I'm thinking about visiting the local boutique ("Yah, but you can't spend any money!"....my lovely neighbor reminds me), visiting my sister for lunch at the school she works...things we normally can't do easily. We're caught up on most of our doctor appointments, but we do have some dental visits in December we might move up because things work differently on Cobra.
Ultimately I understand why Ted was moved from his position, my one frustration was that I wish the reward he got for being a good employee would have been the company not letting him go until they relocated him somewhere else in the company. That would have shown Ted's worth. It's frustrating to see poor performers keep their jobs because they are more in line with the budget. Ted's not focusing on this part, however. He told me he tries not to. "If I think about it too much," he said, "I would get angry, and that won't do any good." Ha. I'm obviously not made of the stuff he's made of.
Well, I have to draw this long blog to a close, but if you read this and are a prayer, please pray that Ted is led in the right direction. Thank you!
One last thing, I'm having a problem with my spell checker lately (something to do with pop-ups), I apologize for any spelling errors. Also, this was written on the 4th and posted on the 6th (had to notify others first).
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween
If you only saw my first picture (the one with all four), you might assume we are glorious in our perfection. I chuckle at the thought. I can't say things went all that bad. I just happen to know that Ben couldn't wait to get out of that french fry costume. We must have tried three costumes on the boy...but he's a child of habit and familiarity...and wearing big, bulky costumes is not his habit and is not familar. I tried everything..."Ben, you have to wear a costume to get candy"...."You can't go trick or treating unless you wear a costume". It was like it fell on deaf ears..."Mom, can I come with you". Ted said, "Just let him go as he is"..."As he is???? You can't do that! The whole reason you GET the candy is because you are in costume!". I eventually came up with the sign idea. It made me feel better. I could say, "See? I tried!". On his back was a sign that said, "Stubborn 3 Year Old".The kids loved his signs. They wanted to show them to every home owner. They were sad when we had to drop off Ben and Mary at home because they were done. It's fun to share a joke with your kids. In a way, they are our cohearts. They know how we struggle sometimes with Ben and Mary. They see everything...sometimes they're with us on the ride of frustration. I'm constantly reminded that we are being watched and I need to set a good example. One of those examples is how we deal with Ben and Mary during trying times. I love humor. It makes everything better. It's funny, because Mary LOVED her costume. She even wore it the next day!
A couple of days before Halloween, we celebrated Mary's 2nd birthday with our families. The kids all dressed in costumes and all of the adults brought a bag of candy to distribute among the kids. It was really fun. I had chili, chicken chili, and the fixins to make chili dogs, chili nachos, etc. Mary sang along to Happy Birthday and blew out her own candle for the first time. She got lots of Dora presents and a grocery cart with fake food.
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