Leavin' On a Jet Plane

I admit it, I've been neglecting my blogs. I haven't had time to do anything but work lately, barely even sleep. I am proud to say that I can still put out a good work product at 4am. The storm has passed and soon I will be in one of my favorite places...Vegas!!! My ears are still not functioning properly so I'm hoping the plane ride is not too painful. My back problem has also gotten worse. Not only is there a bulging disc, but the disc is also torn. This makes sitting or standing for too long painful. I have to be really really careful with my back...I'm not even supposed to vacuum, but that means my house hasn't been vacuumed. All my new shoes are feeling abandoned as well and the only flat shoes I have are keds and flip flops so I have not been wearing my new clothes either.

Hopefully I'll win the mega millions jack pot and then I'll have a lot more time to blog.

It's That Time of the Year

Budget time. Which means I'm crazy busy at work and things in my personal life tend to go crazy at the same time. I'm going to be slammed at work all the way leading up to my next Vegas trip in about a week and a half. I'm not really sure how all the work is going to get done, but it always does.  I can't wait to get on that plane...

Update

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to see how I'm doing and I apologize that I haven't gotten back to all of you. The last two weeks have been crazy. It's the busy time of the week at work and I'm also getting ready to leave on vacation. I don't understand why I make it so difficult on myself getting ready for a vacation. I have a to do list that takes up two pages. My husband just packs some clothes and toiletries and he's good to go. I'll probably be up really late getting ready.

My new Caribbean blog is in the final stages of being ready. I like the header, but something is holding me back from liking the rest. I think it might be too much of the green/blue text or something. I'm going to try to change the background of the big black box. The posts there are just test posts. Will you take a look at it and give me feedback? It is Beaches & Bananas or click on the button on the left of this page in the side bar. Thanks!

Coming Up for Air

This week really kicked my butt. Last weekend the weather was perfect so I stained our back deck and the front porch. I was up early both days to get it all done and I'm so happy it got done so early in the season so we can enjoy it more this summer. Work has been really busy. I've been getting in at 7:45 and working anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day or more with one night until 1:30am. I keep hoping things will slow down, but it just hasn't happened yet. On the bright side, days go by very very quickly and I am grateful to have a job since many people don't. Last night I went out with the girls, but didn't stay out too late since I was so tired. It was nice to sleep in today and get woken up by Minky wanting to cuddle.

Time Flies

Time flies when you're having fun, but also when you're busy. Days and weeks just go by lately and I didn't even realize it's been almost a week since I posted something here. I'm still super busy at work and I don't see it slowing down at all. We went into DC over the weekend for dinner and saw Chelsea Handler's stand up act. The opener was much better this time around (Heather McDonald), but Chelsea used a lot of material I had heard before or read in her book. I didn't enjoy her last book very much. It felt like she was forced to write it and she didn't really want to. I started baking dog treats again last night. I'm going to try to focus on just six products to keep things simple. I hired a graphic designer to do a header for my Caribbean blog, but she can't start for about a month which gives me some time to get some of the content ready. That's all for now!

All Work and No Play

I have been so busy at work lately that I haven't had much time to blog. A couple days were 16 hours...yikes! I think it will be busy for one more week and then hopefully slow down. I have had to take over the work of a few people who were laid off and transfer my current work to other people. I knew at some point it would get really busy and that time is here. One more week...I hope. I did have a chance to have fun last night with the girls and go to dinner and a piano bar.

I Know How You Feel Dilbert

Lay Off Season: Part Deux

My company announced today that they need to lower headcount by 2,500 people....out of 6,900 so that's more than a third. They are offering a voluntary package which is a good idea in my opinion because it gives people some level of control in making the decision themselves and it gets rid of the people who really don't want to be there. If enough people take it, then there won't be an involuntary lay off, but I doubt enough will so there will still be a sad day in the future.

Crazy

Life has been kinda crazy. Work stuff heated up and got really busy and everything with the family room project is still going wrong at home. I'm leaving for Vegas in the morning and I'm not ready at all! Hopefully I'll finally be able to relax once I'm on the plane tomorrow morning.

No Summer Vacation Here

The busy season has officially begun at work. When you decide to work in corporate finance there are certain times of the year you know will be busy and you accept it. It's budget season now, let the games begin.

Stress...What Stress?

To say I'm stressed right now is a bit of an understatement. I have a busy week at work, my family is coming to visit on Saturday and my house is a mess because of the kitchen remodel. When this is all done and the visitors are gone, my husband and I need to do something fun and relaxing. Until then...I will continue to stress...because I'm pretty good at it.

I Made It

My company had lay offs today and luckily I am still employed. I cannot say that for the people who sat on either side of me.

Done

I haven't had time to post much lately. I have been really busy at work and was working late most nights. I went crazy on eating snacks and know my JC weigh will not be good tomorrow. I am ok with it though. This project has been weighing on me for a while and I finished today at around 4pm (yes, on Saturday) and feel so much better now. It was a beautiful day today with the temperature going up to 65! Unfortunately, I started my day with getting my eyes dilated and then once I could focus and read again, I had to work. We did get out for a walk at about 4pm though and it was still nice. One thing happened though that I could not believe. We saw a couple with a dog and they let the dog off the leash. It starting running toward something...then I saw it was chasing a deer! Why would someone let their dog chase a deer??? It seemed so cruel.

Here We Go Again

My company just announced it will be laying off 10% of the work force by the end of March. I knew this was coming, but seeing the email from the CEO makes it real. This is nothing new...it happens just about every year since I have been there, but I hate the waiting to know if it is me or not. If it's me, just tell me.

Time for a Break

Today is my last day at work until January 5th! I am so excited to have a break, even though I will need to do a little bit of work from home. I work in corporate finance, so quarter ends and year end are important...it just goes with the job. At least I can do my work in my pajamas on the couch. I leave tomorrow for Vegas (1 night) and then on to California for the rest of the week. When I get home I will have an entire week off work to relax. Yay!

The Career I Should Have Had

I think it is a shame that people have to make choices so early in life regarding education and careers paths. When I was a kid I wanted to be a cook in my own restaurant or an astronomer. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I was in college. I was good in math and with numbers in general so I started out as a math major. I took calculus in high school so when I got into college my first math class was the third calculus class that only math and engineering majors took. I could do the problems, but didn't really get it. I got a B- which was probably the worst grade I ever received in a math class. After that I knew I wasn't cut out for it and I also didn't know what kind of job I could get with it. Looking back, it probably would have been a good choice of majors. Then I decided I would probably do something in the business world. I had no idea what, but it sounded good at the time. My school had more theoretical majors rather than things like business administration or accounting, so I became a business economics major...which was economics with some accounting thrown in for fun. I still had no idea what I was going to do with it though. When my senior year of college came around and I had to decide what I was going to do with myself, I did the only thing I could think of...keep going to school. So I took the GMAT and applied to business schools to get a MBA. Even after my first year of MBA classes, I still did not know what I was going to do. The summer between the two years I started looking for internships and fell into corporate finance, and here I have been for 12 years. I like the work I do, but it's really the same thing month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year. I often think of what else I could do, but at this point in my life I don't want to take a pay cut to start a new career.

I should have been a meteorologist. I find weather fascinating. I love watching the weather channel and tracking storms. I don't want to be on TV, but would like being the weather expert behind the scenes who runs the models. This time of year is especially exciting (and tragic) since it is hurricane season. Since moving to Virginia I have learned more about weather since not much exciting happens in California. Terms like nor'easters and clippers are regulars around here in the winter. I will never be a meteorologist, but I am the resident weather expert in my house!