Saturday, February 28, 2009

Balance

I love weekends. I love the fact that I don't have to get up to the sound of an alarm buzzing in my ear. I love the fact that even when I wake up (naturally I might add), I can lay awake in my comfy bed as long as I want, as comfortable as ever, with nothing but two days of freedom ahead of me. What a glorious thing. Now if there were only some way to convince the nation that a seven day week needs to be better divided up between work and weekends.

The whole 5:2 ration thing isn't working for me. What if we worked 4 days and had 3 days off? Or, we could work 3.5 days and have 3.5 days off? I think this is a much better idea than our current situation. And then we won't always have to hear about "better work/life balance" because the time dedicated to our work/life WOULD actually be balanced. What a concept...

Friday, February 27, 2009

Mostly Sunny with a Slight Chance of Snow

What an odd day- I was driving to work and it was lightly snowing, and yet the sun was shining at the same time. And I had to laugh a little bit because as I was analyzing the weather, I realized it's sort of a reflection of how my life is right now- sunny, and experiencing a minor storm.

Things are great. I'm loving having Michael home. It's nice to know that hubby is available to "wear the pants" around the house so to speak, so I don't have to be the husband and the wife anymore in trying to keep up the house. It's nice to be able to say "honey- something funky is happening with the garbage disposal. Can you fix it?" And he does. Without complaining I might add. I love it. And I love him.

The job is great. Although things have been a little slow this week since my boss has been out for some medical issues, I am sure that I'll be busy in no time doing what I love- marketing.

The house is also great. I'm getting more comfortable every day. It's a cozy home that I find myself enjoying for the little things and the big things. Don't get me wrong, there's some stuff that still needs work, but Michael and I are actually looking forward to working on those projects together to personalize our home. I've been buying the home magazines like crazy to get ideas for paint colors, kitchen remodels, window treatments, and all sorts of other little things.

So with all these good things, why the minor storm? Why am I somewhat restless when I should be totally content right now? I'm not sure. I've given it a lot of thought and have come to only one conclusion: Maybe I'm finally absorbing all that has happened to me in the last month. Maybe I'm finally soaking up just how different my life is from what it was merely 30 days ago and I'm trying to figure out how to settle in to all that is different about my circumstances. And it's not a bad thing, just kind of a strange thing... like the weather this morning.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

25 Things I Love, and Love to Hate

I love:
1- LOST, the ABC drama about a crazy island and all the people involved in the Oceanic flight that crashed.
2- Having my husband home.
3- Exploring the Outter Banks in North Carolina.
4- Shelling (as in looking for giant sea shells along the Outter Banks of North Carolina).
5- The changing of the seasons
6- Kettle corn
7- Dr. Pepper (ice cold, with extra ice)
8- Traveling to new places
9- Pasta
10- My dad’s laugh
11- Snuggling with my puppy
12- Climbing into my bed when it has a fresh set of laundered sheets
13- Sunsets
14- Preparing a meal and having it taste wonderful
15- Singing
16- Decorating
17- Hot cookies right out of the oven
18- Driving home from work on Friday nights knowing the weekend is ahead of me
19- Chap stick
20- Long hugs from Michael
21- Tulips
22- Having a house full of friends and laughter
23- New clothes
24- Driving my Audi
25- Wrapping paper

I hate:
1- Monday mornings
2- Working in a cubical
3- Paying bills
4- Speed limits
5- When people take their children to a movie and let them cry through it.
6- People who talk through a TV show or movie I’m trying to watch.
7- Cardboard
8- Grasshoppers
9- Dirty dishes in the sink
10- Paper cuts
11- Driving in snow
12- Heights
13- Being lied to
14- Standing room only
15- Bucket seats in cars
16- Turbulence
17- Taking down the Christmas tree
18- When people run late
19- Flakes
20- Beer
21- My first job out of college (including boss from this job)
22- George Bush
23- Humidity
24- Sales stickers that are impossible to tear off of things like picture frames, vases, etc…
25- Not being able to sleep in.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Changes

Hi- for those of you who know me, ignore the background information. For those of you who know OF me through my husband or a friend, I'll give you a brief download: My name is Michelle. I'm a 5'0 tall (or short depending on how you look at it) Italian, and a Gemini. There, consider yourself up to speed and fully briefed on where my sometimes erratic, indecisive behavior comes from.

Over the past little while my life has changed. And I don't mean just a little bit. I mean, changed as in CHANGED. Think of three really big life changes that can happen to a person, and then imagine those three changes all taking place in one month. Once you've done that, you'll have a pretty good idea what I'm talking about in regards to my life.


For the record, here is how my life has changed over the past 30 days:
1- Michael came home.
2- I bought a house and moved.
3- I changed jobs.

Let me elaborate a little bit. First of all, Michael is finally home (thus making me actually feel like I'm really married- not just calling myself the wife of a marine living 3,000 miles away that I see every three or four months, but actually married as in he comes home to me after work every day and takes up more than his half of the bed every night type of married).

Secondly, Michael and I bought a house and moved in the last week of January. It's been a whirlwind of boxes, packing tape, piles of miscellaneous crap that we're not sure what to do with, and managing a plethora of house projects like getting new carpet, refinishing hardwood floors, furniture deliveries, testing paint colors, evaluating ways to remodel the kitchen and master bathroom etc... basically all that goes into turning a house into a home. More specifically, our home.

And lastly, I quit my old job and went to work for a new company as a marketing manager (increasing my salary by 10K and finally getting some manager experience on my resume thus making me about as happy as a full-time working girl can be).

So to deal with everything, I'm starting a blog. I find writing can be theraputic and lets hope it is because on top of everything listed above, I'm also trying to finish my field project for my masters degree so I can graduate in June (imagine, with all this going on, I still manage to get bored from time to time- crazy, I know).

It's been fun but crazy and there are many new things to get used to. Overall, it's exhausting and exciting at the same time. They say things come in 3's. And to think I've already covered my three big ones all within the first months of 2009. Hopefully there's some smooth sailing for me in the months ahead because I'm craving some tranquility.