Why Am I Returning To Work?

Because I'm tired. I need a break. Staying home this past year has been the hardest, busiest, most jam-packed time I've had in ages.
I LOVE being home with my girls and being available for Emil but there is NEVER and I mean NEVER a moment of downtime. From the minute I wake up (8:30-ish) until I go to bed (2 am-ish) it is non stop go go go.
I honestly cannot keep up this pace. I'm one person and I'm exhausted. I've been saying for months I need a job. I want a job. But I want it to be the right job. I hope I have found it.

Today was a perfect example of exactly why I am so tired...

6:30 am-wake up
7:00-7:45 invoicing/paperwork 7:45-8:00 shower
8:15-9:15 take mom to have her car worked on
9:15-3:45 out of town/working
3:45-3:50 home
3:50-5:45 sonic w/ girls & park
5:50-5:52 home
5:53-7:45 take mom to pick up her car/go to HEB pick up sushi
8:00-8:30 home/eat
8:30-now (10:19) watch American Idol/doze off/ wash face/ bed

And I'm sick. Fever. Cough. Runny nose. Feel crappy. And today was the rare day that ended early.
Today will be the third day in almost two years that I will be in bed for the night on the same day I woke up.
It's breaking my heart to leave my girls, and they are big now, but just knowing I won't be here with them when they wake up is killing me. Lena asked me today who is going to have her coffee waiting for her when she starts her school work. She said, "You even know which shelf in the 'frig to put it on." CC said she's going to miss that we can get up and go and do what we need/want to do whenever we need/want to do it and that we don't have to rush back, we can take our time and look around. I think for me that will be hard too. We can get to the mall around 8, walk around til closing at 9, go to the bookstore or Starbucks til 11, drive around, rent some movies or clean until midnight or later. I had time to do those things and I won't now and that will be hard. I hate that I won't be available to them 24 hours a day anymore.

I hope that the time I will be available to them, after work, I will be more energized, less tired and stressed and able to enjoy what ever it is we do together.

I hope our weekends won't be wasted with each of us in different rooms doing our own thing. I hope we will cherish my time at home even more so.

I hope I am making the right choice.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rainy Monday....

Today was a wet, dreary, gloomy day. It didn't help much that this pollen has my allergies going crazy. I woke up super early to a burning throat!
I left to Target early to get oatmeal, orange juice, hotpockets and....

CC broke my first Alice DVD (and Cinderella!) and I was devastated! When I saw it at Target today I snatched it up!
Papa Bear took us to have Pho for dinner tonight. It was just what I needed for this throat! Us girls came home, snuggled up on the couch and enjoyed watching Alice in Wonderland. Papa Bear even sat in on the last half hour!

I may have broken down and cried today...all ready missing my babies. I know it will pass. I know it's a wonderful opportunity to work for this company. I had another bank call me and want to set up an interview today. I listened to their benefits, pay and job description and it was no where even close to what USAA is offering me. It will just take some adjustment time to get back in the swing of working outside of the home full time. It'll be ok... it will. We just need some time.

Austin Pizza Garden & A Night Out

Lena had been wanting to try out this pizza restaurant in Austin called Austin Pizza Garden. It's located in the James A. Patton building the "old rock store" that is over 100 years old. I didn't expect the food to be very good, but I'm a sucker for old buildings and thought it would be neat to see what was inside.
The food was amazing!!! We were so surprised. I think it may just be a new favorite!
This pizza had spinach, feta cheese, olives and sun-dried tomatoes...delicious!

This was a bacon, onion, fresh tomatoes and basil.

I fell in love with the interior. These pictures were taken with my cell phone and it was around 10 p.m., so the picture quality is not that great.

I wished the fire had been going while we were there. It was certainly chilly enough.

And look at those original floors...

Saturday we spent the day inside doing a whole lot of nothing. I NEVER have days like that, and since I start work in a week, I took advantage at the chance. The girls played on the Wii and the computer, and I watched Netflix movies, Anastasia and Bed & Breakfast.

Papa Bear called me around 8 and asked me if I wanted to go to the Marriott bar with him. I really needed a little time away to have a drink (just one) and talk with friends. I have been so nervous about starting my new job. I have been so nervous about it that the past two weeks I have been having chest pains and tightness and heart palpatations. Not fun!

Anyway, I ordered their onion rings. They were good. Nothing spectacular. For $10 for 8 onion rings you would have expected something much, much better. Oh well, you are paying for the ambience I guess.

I did, however, like my drink...Cool Runnings. It had blue caraco, rum, vodka and some other things. I'm not a drinker, so the one drink was just right for me. It was fruity and sweet and girly and I really liked it.

And before we left CC was showing me how to marinate and make Herbes de Provence trout. We may have just had a few glasses of white wine while cooking..... so the one big drink at the Marriott was more than enough for me.

I really enjoyed spending some one on one time with my Papa Bear. We NEVER get to...never. And like the old couple we are, we were home by 11:30 and that was just fine with me!

San Antonio Rodeo 2012

The girls have been wanting to go to the rodeo, so Thursday we picked up Mom and headed over. We lucked out and found good parking, which would turn out not so great when we left, we exited the rodeo on the complete opposite side and had to walk what felt like hours to get to the car. In reality it was only a ten to fifteen minute walk, but we were so tired and thirsty and exhausted I felt like calling a cab to drive me to my car! Ha!

We walked through the cattle area upon entering the rodeo. You can imagine how marvelous it smelled. We also left the rodeo this way but somehow ended up so far away from our car. I never in my life saw my Mom walk as fast as she did when she walked through this area!

Outside....

We walked around inside, looked at all the vendors then headed out for some snacks. The weather was nice, almost too warm, quite a departure from the usual Rodeo weather, where we are bundled up and hoping not to get sick from being out in it.

The HEB Buckaroo attraction was cute. We "milked" a cow, saw different veggies being grown, saw live bees making honey. It was neat.

We headed over to the carnival. CC wanted to win a goldfish (there were none), Lena wanted to find and win a Domo (which she did) and I wanted a funnel cake!

Lena "threw" two hoops over the ducks heads...thank you carnival worker lady!

And she picked out her Domo......

And I got my funnel cake!! I remember when my grandmother used to make them homemade for me....there is nothing like it! I remember standing by her at the stove and watching in excitement as she snaked the batter around and around and looped it about, making it just right!

Earlier in the week (Tuesday) Mom came over and we girls left to run some errands. We ended up at World Market. I found this lovely French clock (who am I kidding? It was probably "Made in China!")...it was huge!! I would love to be able to incorporate it somewhere in my decor.

Mom, being the artist she is, found these prints that she loved. This ship was her favorite, minus the boy and dog.

And if you know Mom, especially circa 1980's Mom, this would have fit in perfectly to any room of our house. I do hope she recreates this one. I told her if she does, I want it!

And Lena found this strikingly handsome man on a St. Patrick's Day card....it was too funny, and really gross at the same time, to NOT take a picture of!

Yesterday we visited Sister Lassen. She has been sick with her heart. I brought her a rotisserie chicken, beans and potato salad, just a little something so she doesn't have to worry about cooking for a couple of days. She was out of breath and easily tired but we had a nice visit and chat and of course listened to her wonderful stories. That woman should write a memoir. Her life has been a truly interesting one. She even showed us the ship she came over from Denmark on, along with the schedule and weather detail from 1953!

I also visited a former boss who had a heart attack the night prior. Maria was so happy to see me. She cried. I brought her a lovely bouquet of flowers. I am keeping both Maria and Sister Lassen in my prayers. They are both remarkable ladies who have so much to give those around them!

Chicken Divan

This has been such a relaxing weekend. Yesterday, Saturday, we pretty much did nothing. We lounged on the couch and watched TV most of the evening. I made a quick-cheat stew, browned my meat with fresh garlic and onions. In the same pot added beef broth, frozen carrots and corn and frozen potato wedges I had baked. I was worried it wouldn't come as as good since I usually do it in the crockpot. It was delicious!
Today, after Pam came I decided to try a Chicken Divan recipe I found on Kitty's Kozy Kitchen blog. I did add my own little twist. (Recipe at end of post.)

I used two cans of canned chicken.

I didn't have the curry powder the recipe called for so I substituted with about 3-4 tsps. of garlic.

The recipe did not call for noodles, but I really thought it would be good to add some egg noodles in there. I also sprinkled salt through out as I mixed the noodles, broccoli and chicken. It was sooooo good!

Poured the mayo, canned soups and garlic powder mixture on top.

Topped with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.

Baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes....

I made a big portion... there is hardly anything left. I think I found a new favorite for the house.

And the best part is that it took less than 15 minutes to get it prepared and in the oven! I need to find more super easy recipes like this to make once I start working...in two weeks!
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All this rain had our front yard looking like a week jungle!! So the girls and I went out, pulled the weeds (the girls) and trimmed the yard, side of the driveway and around the flower bed (me). Ooohh, I didn't remember how much work it is! After a quick shower we slipped through Starbucks and treated ourselves!

Then we went over to Mom's, our usual Sunday evening thing. She made her unbelieveable delicious, completely from scratch banana pudding! She sure knows how to get us over there! Ha!

Starting this week I am cutting caffeine out after lunch or so, to try to get back on a regular sleeping schedule. As it is I NEVER go to sleep and wake up on the same day. Never. I think in the past year I have done that a handful of times.

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CC made her girls such a nice C&C cage. After Mom we went to Wal-Greens to get a fleece throw for the bottom of their cage. We just walked around and looked at nail stuff. I am really going to miss doing things like that with them. I'm going to have to get to bed and wake up early and work all day. I work all day right now, literally, all day. But at least I am here with them or they are on the go with me. I am going to miss that. And I know that I don't HAVE to get to bed at any certain time or wake up at any certain time, usually. That's going to be really hard. I miss them all ready. Lena keeps clinging to me and telling me she misses me too. It's going to be a hard change but I think, hope, that the transition will be an easy one.

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So right now, I am going to plop my fat behind on the couch and watch some DVR'd "Big Bang Theory" and then I might make some more coffee and watch some old Italian movies on Netflix... I might stay up all night. I can do that you know, at least for the next couple of days... Oh who am I kidding, I'll probably be asleep by 2!

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Chicken Divan (per Kitty's Kozy Kitchen)

1 box frozen chopped broccoli

2 cups cooked chicken, cut up (I used two cans of chicken)

2 cans cream of chiken soup (I used 1 can Cream of Chicken & 1 can Broccoli Cheese Soup)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 t. lemon juice (I use 1/2 lemon)

1/2 tsp curry powder (I used abt 3 tsps. garlic powder)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1T. melted butter (oops, I forgot this one!)

Directions:

Partially cook the broccoli & then drain. Add this to the bottom of a 9 x 13" pan. Add the chopped, cooked chicken.Mix the cream of chicken soups, the mayonnaise, lemon juice & curry powder in a medium bowl. Put this mixture on top of the chicken. Sprinkle on the cheese & then sprinkle on the breadcrumbs that have been mixed with the melted butter.Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Coffee, Rain, Hair, Changes

I have been wasting lots of time on Pintrest lately, whenever I get a few seconds. I found this picture and loved it!

This morning when I woke up it was drizzling and nasty looking outside. It was so hard to get up and get moving. I had thrown away a piece of cake last night and when I woke up this morning and saw this.... of course, it wasn't Luigi that dug in the trash and ate a piece of cake!

I knew it was going to be a big cup of coffee kinda day.

The weather was so nasty and wet. I know it's important to drive safely when it's wet but sometimes drivers create more traffic and dangerous conditions. I think it's pretty sad when the slow lane moves faster than the fast lane. Because of over cautious drivers, drivers talking on the phone and texting, people oblivious that the third lane is for passing only, what normally takes me an hour to an hour and a half tops took me three hours today!

But we put on some music and entertained ourselves....

Maybe a large Diet Dr. Pepper and Extreme Sour Patch Kids wasn't a good combination....

I might have a had a good sized headache by the time we got where we were going. But it's those crazy, frustrating, loud, fun moments like that, that I live for!
We came home and it was still raining. It's pouring right now, we are under a Flash Flood watch. CC and I decided to clean..at midnight. I guess that's what you do when you are gone running around all day!

Yesterday we took CC's pants to get altered and snapped a few pictures.

We went to the bookstore to buy Lena "Charlotte's Web" for her literature class. That girls is already in chapter 12!
I found a book I am putting on my wish list. I browsed through it last night and it looks really good! I checked prices on half.com. I'm pretty sure that's where I'll end up purchasing it from. I can't wait to get it!

I am also desperate for a new hair cut. I was offered the job last week that I had applied and interviewed for. I am super excited but also super, SUPER nervous about the change of going back to work, not being here with my girls, and not helping Papa Bear out with the business. Changes happen. Some good, some bad. It's how we approach them that determines how we interpret them. I am looking forward to this transition positively.
ANYWAY, back to the subject at hand, hair... I found a few styles that I like. These are my top two.

I also plan on coloring my hair before I start. I definitely don't want a head full of grey on my badge photo!

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I'm off to do some reading in bed while listening to the rain come down. I told my mom since I was let go from work in 2010, all I wanted was to stay home and have it pour down rain, all day, and I would be stuck inside, listening to and watching the rain. With the drought of last year that didn't happen. Now the Farmer's Almanac is showing the first week of March we will have lots of rain. So there goes my chance of being stuck at home in the rain again...that's when I start my new job! Oh well....it's been raining lightly all day and evening and occasionally it pours nice and hard. I better go grab the chance to read and listen to the rain while I have the chance!