I decided not to give into the growing need I've felt to work on the weekends, and boy am I glad I didn't--I was one heck of an accomplished girl over the past few days!
On Friday I had an interview with a company in Waverly, IA. Immediately after the interview, I felt like it had gone well. But, as the weekend progressed and after I had time to analyze every single word that was said, I slowly lost my confidence. Seriously, though, this job would be perfect for me, and I'd be perfect for the job, I just hope they realize it. BUT, I won't know until sometime this week (hopefully sooner than later), and I feel like the more I think/write about it the worse my odds get. So, topic over.
On Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday I made multiple trips to Target, Scheels, Wal-Mart, Kohls, Hobby Lobby, Hy-vee, antique stores, and even did a bit of shopping on Main Street. In addition, my friend, Christy (from now on, I am going to stop saying "my friend" before referring to my friends; if relationships are unknown, hopefully you readers can use the context to figure it out), came over and did some serious rearranging and redecorating in my household. Since I don't have a before picture, here is a visual: at this time last week, there was a purple wrestling poster, framed photos of cartoon dogs, and an oddly hung black and white dock scene hanging in the living room. Just in case I haven't said this before, I'll say it now--Trent is not a designer. Not. at. all.
Yesterday, I did some serious cooking. I made some SUPERB chicken enchilada soup, chocolate chip cookies, and brandy slushes. However, with the exception of a few taste-testers, the entirety of my produce was tucked away in the freezer where it currently awaits the upcoming "Fab Four Friday" which will be held at my house this time. In attendance, will be my three favorite co-workers (and me, of course). Boy, it sure does take off some stress to have an entire meal already prepped and ready a whole freaking five days in advance. I'm not used to this feeling.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Random.
I am writing this post while sipping my third large glass of wine for the night, so I apologize for any slurred words or run-on sentences in advance.
I currently have no plan for this here post, but I can't describe the relief I feel to finally be writing again, regardless of the lack of subject or purpose.
Random thought number one: I may be an absentee blogger as of late, but I definitely don't go a day without reading the posts of my four favorite bloggers--the twenty minutes I spend catching up on their lives really is a daily highlight of mine. I mean, seriously, who the heck wouldn't get a good laugh while reading about the daily adventures of Kerri Andersen?!
Random thought number two: The most awkward auditing experience happened to me today. I walked into the office of one of my clients to find no one was sitting at the front desk and, although a sign stated, "Please ring for assistance," no bell was available to ring. So, I patiently waited for someone to walk to the front and notice my presence. While waiting, I heard several people talking in an office or hallway that was just out of sight. The topic of their conversation was, of course, the auditors (aka: me). I nervously waited while they loudly discussed the auditors' need to "dig through everything with a fine-toothed comb" and explained how "they wrote me up for buying a box of Kleenex last year" and mentioned that "they won't leave here without finding something wrong" and finally, "I'm sure they'd let us know if we bought the wrong kind of toilet paper." FREAKING GOOD GOD! Yes, us auditors probably are guilty of some of these things (not the toilet paper remark!!), but seriously!?! Anyway, while fearing that one of these individuals would come around the corner and get caught talking about me, I stood at attention with a giant, goofy grin on my face for a few seconds. Then, after deciding I really didn't want to have that awkward confrontation, I slowly stepped back towards the door, opened it, and slammed it as loudly as possible, announcing my presence. Then, I briskly walked towards their voices and announced myself (and tried to hide the annoyance I felt as they attempted to divert their conversation to something other than the wrath of "The Auditors." This, the fact that I am presumed to be a nuisance/soulless bitch, is probably number five on the mental list I have called, "Why I Hate My Job."
Random thought number three: I am going to Vegas is just about two weeks and I AM SOOO EXCITED.
Random thought number four: I may or may not have an interview on Friday and I AM SOOO EXCITED.
Random thought number five: I have stared at number four for three minutes now, contemplating whether or not I should delete it because a) I don't want to jinx myself, b) I don't want to announce any future failures (if it comes to that), and c) I really don't want to jinx myself. Hopefully this acts as a qualifier/"knock-on-wood" substitute.
Random thought number six: I just stood up and knocked on wood.
Random thought number seven: There are so many work-related things I should be doing right now (yes, even after working a 12 hour day and working 58 hours last week) and it's really stressing me out.
Random thought number eight: I really miss all of my friends.
That's all for now.
Peace out, Schmeace out.
I currently have no plan for this here post, but I can't describe the relief I feel to finally be writing again, regardless of the lack of subject or purpose.
Random thought number one: I may be an absentee blogger as of late, but I definitely don't go a day without reading the posts of my four favorite bloggers--the twenty minutes I spend catching up on their lives really is a daily highlight of mine. I mean, seriously, who the heck wouldn't get a good laugh while reading about the daily adventures of Kerri Andersen?!
Random thought number two: The most awkward auditing experience happened to me today. I walked into the office of one of my clients to find no one was sitting at the front desk and, although a sign stated, "Please ring for assistance," no bell was available to ring. So, I patiently waited for someone to walk to the front and notice my presence. While waiting, I heard several people talking in an office or hallway that was just out of sight. The topic of their conversation was, of course, the auditors (aka: me). I nervously waited while they loudly discussed the auditors' need to "dig through everything with a fine-toothed comb" and explained how "they wrote me up for buying a box of Kleenex last year" and mentioned that "they won't leave here without finding something wrong" and finally, "I'm sure they'd let us know if we bought the wrong kind of toilet paper." FREAKING GOOD GOD! Yes, us auditors probably are guilty of some of these things (not the toilet paper remark!!), but seriously!?! Anyway, while fearing that one of these individuals would come around the corner and get caught talking about me, I stood at attention with a giant, goofy grin on my face for a few seconds. Then, after deciding I really didn't want to have that awkward confrontation, I slowly stepped back towards the door, opened it, and slammed it as loudly as possible, announcing my presence. Then, I briskly walked towards their voices and announced myself (and tried to hide the annoyance I felt as they attempted to divert their conversation to something other than the wrath of "The Auditors." This, the fact that I am presumed to be a nuisance/soulless bitch, is probably number five on the mental list I have called, "Why I Hate My Job."
Random thought number three: I am going to Vegas is just about two weeks and I AM SOOO EXCITED.
Random thought number four: I may or may not have an interview on Friday and I AM SOOO EXCITED.
Random thought number five: I have stared at number four for three minutes now, contemplating whether or not I should delete it because a) I don't want to jinx myself, b) I don't want to announce any future failures (if it comes to that), and c) I really don't want to jinx myself. Hopefully this acts as a qualifier/"knock-on-wood" substitute.
Random thought number six: I just stood up and knocked on wood.
Random thought number seven: There are so many work-related things I should be doing right now (yes, even after working a 12 hour day and working 58 hours last week) and it's really stressing me out.
Random thought number eight: I really miss all of my friends.
That's all for now.
Peace out, Schmeace out.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Another Summer Memory: spontaneity
If I had to pick one weekend of my whole entire life that I will never, ever, ever forget, this would be the one. However, only a handful of people know the details of this event/weekend as the majority of the details are top secret. I apologize, but I can't even break my oath of secrecy on this here blog, so what I am about to describe is the filtered version of the events surrounding this ultra-spontaneous, ultra-memorable weekend.
Here we go:
It was a Thursday night. I arrived home after a long, stressful week of work and was incredibly disappointed that I had to go back in the following day (which was supposed to be a day off) to wrap up some unfinished business.
Like clock-work, I ran (literally) directly to the bathroom to relieve my bladder's growing pressure, changed out of my work attire, and went to see what my parents were up to. I found my dad sitting in the office, staring at our desktop computer, and working on the top-secret event (which will be referred to as a "project" from here on out) which, over the past few months, we had only discussed briefly.
He spent the next hour explaining what he was doing and how he thought he had made headway with the project earlier in the day, but after a discussion with his brother/partner-in-crime (don't worry, not actual crime), realized he had made a small (but very important) mistake in the work he had done thus far. It was very obvious that my dad was disappointed and incredibly frustrated.
The next morning I was not-so-pleasantly surprised when I was woken up at 8 AM by my dad--it was a Friday, and he typically starts work at 7 AM, so it was odd that he was home.
"Andi, wake up! Come here, I've got to show you something!" he said as he swung open my bedroom door. I tried not to let him see the annoyance I felt (yes, I was going into work, but I still wanted to sleep in on my "day off"!) as I drug myself out of bed and back into the office where he sat, again, staring at the computer.
"Look at this," he said as he pointed to the computer screen, "What do you see?" I stared at the screen for a few seconds and answered him. Instantly, his face lit up and he smiled--I gave him the answer he was hoping for. He considered my response confirmation that he wasn't crazy or seeing things and called his brother to explain his newest development. I stayed in the office for a while as they spoke on the phone, and, as the excitement and giddiness of my father grew, so did my interest in the project.
After a while, I headed into our sun room to get my weekly Today Show fix. Meanwhile, my dad could not sit still; he paced our house and our yard for almost four hours while talking off and on to himself, to me, and to his brother. After contemplating calling the loony bin for a good twenty seconds (okay, probably only three...he's not really crazy), I convinced him to sit down and relax for a bit. This lasted very, very briefly. After another short phone call, he had made up his mind, he was going to Montana.
Montana!
Montana is a good fourteen hour drive from our house, and yes, my dad was going to drive there, non-stop, by himself. The thought of him driving all the way there alone frightened me, but there wasn't much I could do--I couldn't go (I had to work) and there was no way he wasn't going. My dad had his things packed in five minutes and was out the door. He headed to my mom's office in Ames, twenty miles away, to trade vehicles (for our more dependable and more fuel-efficient option) and I frantically tried to get ahold of my brother as I was still incredibly worried about my dad making this fourteen-hour-journey on his own.
Five minutes later (which felt like forever), my brother returned my call. You could imagine how strange the conversation was:
Me: "Hi Dane, what are you doing?"
Dane: "Heading to Des Moines, why?"
Me: "Do you want to go to Montana with Dad?"
Dane: "What? Why?"
Me: "I don't have time to explain right now, but can you go?"
Dane: "Uh...when?"
Me: "Right now."
Dane: "No really, Andi, what do you need?"
Me: "No really, Dad just left. He is going to Montana. Can you go!?"
Subsequently, Dane called my dad and was told the same thing that I tried telling him, and, what do you know, Dane turned around and headed to Ames to pack his things and meet my dad. Whew. I was instantly relieved by this news. Finally, I got out of my pajamas, threw on some clothes and headed to work.
During my drive into work, I started feeling left out of all the excitement. As I said earlier, I had listened to my dad ramble all day long about this project, and I wanted to see it through. My dad is very, very, very laid back and it is not common at all for my dad to get worked up about anything, so it was fun to see him like this--really, really excited about something; I decided I didn't want to hear about this adventure second-hand. So, what did I do?
I called up my boss, asked for Monday off, got it approved, and instead of heading into work, drove to a random parking lot to meet up with my dad and brother. All I had packed were the clothes on my back (and I hadn't even showered for the day).
Once I got there, we decided to take my car (since it was the roomiest option), filled up my tank, and by 2:00 PM, we were headed to Montana. Initially I started driving, but my dad was so anxious and excited that he couldn't sit still in the passenger seat. So, two minutes into the trip I pulled over and let him take over.
Obviously, the first hour (of fourteen) was spent explaining to Dane the urgency of this road trip. Our second hour was spent deciding what to tell our significant others; I had already told Trent where I was going, but he had no idea why I was going. Dane hadn't told his girlfriend either of these things, so we spent another hour pondering any potential consequences, and he eventually called her to explain where he was headed.
We all took our turns driving, but I can say with 99% certainty, that I drove the majority of the trip, straight on through the night--I didn't sleep a wink, and the most my dad and brother slept was an hour or two. We arrived in Montana around 5 AM the next morning and met my Uncle Mike (my dad's brother), who lives in Texas and flew in the night before (luckily his daughter works at an airline and could get him a cheap ticket).
I sprawled out in the car and, FINALLY, was able to take a little nap. I was awoken 45 minutes later by my dad, brother, and uncle who were ready to get started on the project.
Within the first five minutes of our work on the project, we all knew it wasn't going to be a successful day. Still, though, we continued to work on it for the next several hours before calling it quits and hitting up a tiny, small town bar.
We sipped, talked, ate tons of peanuts, and eventually drove my uncle to the airport and started our fourteen hour journey back home. Kill. Me. Now.
The ride home was 100% less enjoyable than the ride there (like all drives home are, but times ten). We were tired, cranky, disappointed, and FREAKING tired. By the end of the trip, I couldn't stand straight, definitely couldn't see straight, and had told my dad and brother (multiple times) that I would never go on another road trip with them again. It was the Tired talking, I promise.
I was back in Colo, IA and in bed by 8 AM Monday morning, slept the entire day, and went to work the next day like nothing had ever happened.
The end.
**Epilogue**
The very next weekend, my dad went back to Montana. He flew that time. Thank god.
Here we go:
It was a Thursday night. I arrived home after a long, stressful week of work and was incredibly disappointed that I had to go back in the following day (which was supposed to be a day off) to wrap up some unfinished business.
Like clock-work, I ran (literally) directly to the bathroom to relieve my bladder's growing pressure, changed out of my work attire, and went to see what my parents were up to. I found my dad sitting in the office, staring at our desktop computer, and working on the top-secret event (which will be referred to as a "project" from here on out) which, over the past few months, we had only discussed briefly.
He spent the next hour explaining what he was doing and how he thought he had made headway with the project earlier in the day, but after a discussion with his brother/partner-in-crime (don't worry, not actual crime), realized he had made a small (but very important) mistake in the work he had done thus far. It was very obvious that my dad was disappointed and incredibly frustrated.
The next morning I was not-so-pleasantly surprised when I was woken up at 8 AM by my dad--it was a Friday, and he typically starts work at 7 AM, so it was odd that he was home.
"Andi, wake up! Come here, I've got to show you something!" he said as he swung open my bedroom door. I tried not to let him see the annoyance I felt (yes, I was going into work, but I still wanted to sleep in on my "day off"!) as I drug myself out of bed and back into the office where he sat, again, staring at the computer.
"Look at this," he said as he pointed to the computer screen, "What do you see?" I stared at the screen for a few seconds and answered him. Instantly, his face lit up and he smiled--I gave him the answer he was hoping for. He considered my response confirmation that he wasn't crazy or seeing things and called his brother to explain his newest development. I stayed in the office for a while as they spoke on the phone, and, as the excitement and giddiness of my father grew, so did my interest in the project.
After a while, I headed into our sun room to get my weekly Today Show fix. Meanwhile, my dad could not sit still; he paced our house and our yard for almost four hours while talking off and on to himself, to me, and to his brother. After contemplating calling the loony bin for a good twenty seconds (okay, probably only three...he's not really crazy), I convinced him to sit down and relax for a bit. This lasted very, very briefly. After another short phone call, he had made up his mind, he was going to Montana.
Montana!
Montana is a good fourteen hour drive from our house, and yes, my dad was going to drive there, non-stop, by himself. The thought of him driving all the way there alone frightened me, but there wasn't much I could do--I couldn't go (I had to work) and there was no way he wasn't going. My dad had his things packed in five minutes and was out the door. He headed to my mom's office in Ames, twenty miles away, to trade vehicles (for our more dependable and more fuel-efficient option) and I frantically tried to get ahold of my brother as I was still incredibly worried about my dad making this fourteen-hour-journey on his own.
Five minutes later (which felt like forever), my brother returned my call. You could imagine how strange the conversation was:
Me: "Hi Dane, what are you doing?"
Dane: "Heading to Des Moines, why?"
Me: "Do you want to go to Montana with Dad?"
Dane: "What? Why?"
Me: "I don't have time to explain right now, but can you go?"
Dane: "Uh...when?"
Me: "Right now."
Dane: "No really, Andi, what do you need?"
Me: "No really, Dad just left. He is going to Montana. Can you go!?"
Subsequently, Dane called my dad and was told the same thing that I tried telling him, and, what do you know, Dane turned around and headed to Ames to pack his things and meet my dad. Whew. I was instantly relieved by this news. Finally, I got out of my pajamas, threw on some clothes and headed to work.
During my drive into work, I started feeling left out of all the excitement. As I said earlier, I had listened to my dad ramble all day long about this project, and I wanted to see it through. My dad is very, very, very laid back and it is not common at all for my dad to get worked up about anything, so it was fun to see him like this--really, really excited about something; I decided I didn't want to hear about this adventure second-hand. So, what did I do?
I called up my boss, asked for Monday off, got it approved, and instead of heading into work, drove to a random parking lot to meet up with my dad and brother. All I had packed were the clothes on my back (and I hadn't even showered for the day).
Once I got there, we decided to take my car (since it was the roomiest option), filled up my tank, and by 2:00 PM, we were headed to Montana. Initially I started driving, but my dad was so anxious and excited that he couldn't sit still in the passenger seat. So, two minutes into the trip I pulled over and let him take over.
Obviously, the first hour (of fourteen) was spent explaining to Dane the urgency of this road trip. Our second hour was spent deciding what to tell our significant others; I had already told Trent where I was going, but he had no idea why I was going. Dane hadn't told his girlfriend either of these things, so we spent another hour pondering any potential consequences, and he eventually called her to explain where he was headed.
We all took our turns driving, but I can say with 99% certainty, that I drove the majority of the trip, straight on through the night--I didn't sleep a wink, and the most my dad and brother slept was an hour or two. We arrived in Montana around 5 AM the next morning and met my Uncle Mike (my dad's brother), who lives in Texas and flew in the night before (luckily his daughter works at an airline and could get him a cheap ticket).
I sprawled out in the car and, FINALLY, was able to take a little nap. I was awoken 45 minutes later by my dad, brother, and uncle who were ready to get started on the project.
Within the first five minutes of our work on the project, we all knew it wasn't going to be a successful day. Still, though, we continued to work on it for the next several hours before calling it quits and hitting up a tiny, small town bar.
 |
| This is the outfit I had on as I drove into Ames (for work) the day before (don't judge). This is also the outfit I wore until Monday. Ew. |
We sipped, talked, ate tons of peanuts, and eventually drove my uncle to the airport and started our fourteen hour journey back home. Kill. Me. Now.
The ride home was 100% less enjoyable than the ride there (like all drives home are, but times ten). We were tired, cranky, disappointed, and FREAKING tired. By the end of the trip, I couldn't stand straight, definitely couldn't see straight, and had told my dad and brother (multiple times) that I would never go on another road trip with them again. It was the Tired talking, I promise.
I was back in Colo, IA and in bed by 8 AM Monday morning, slept the entire day, and went to work the next day like nothing had ever happened.
The end.
**Epilogue**
The very next weekend, my dad went back to Montana. He flew that time. Thank god.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
A little bit of TLC // my new vanity
As soon as I moved in with Trent, I took it upon my self to remodel (mostly just paint) the spare bedroom and turn it into my dressing room/closet. This project seemed to take FOREVER since I travel during the week and there are only 48 short hours during the weekend (and painting takes about 700). However, I am officially DONE with all of the hard stuff and now just need to pick out some new bedding and decor, which, thanks to my indecisiveness, will probably take another couple of months.
ANYWAY, the whole point of this post, is to say that I have created the perfect little vanity for this room! Thanks to my good friend, Christy (who has one heck of an eye for antiques/seeing the potential in other people's junk), we turned this piece of crap desk:
Into this cute little vanity:
I can't get over how great it turned out! I took this picture before it was one hundred percent finished (the old nail holes by the knobs have been painted over now), but you get the picture. I bought the desk for $10, bought 15 bucks worth of paint, and spent $8 on new knobs, for a grand total of 33 big ones. I saw a comparable vanity at Bed Bath & Beyond today for $179. Holy crapaloni, I scored.
If you're reading this, Christy, thanks for all your help!!
ANYWAY, the whole point of this post, is to say that I have created the perfect little vanity for this room! Thanks to my good friend, Christy (who has one heck of an eye for antiques/seeing the potential in other people's junk), we turned this piece of crap desk:
Into this cute little vanity:
I can't get over how great it turned out! I took this picture before it was one hundred percent finished (the old nail holes by the knobs have been painted over now), but you get the picture. I bought the desk for $10, bought 15 bucks worth of paint, and spent $8 on new knobs, for a grand total of 33 big ones. I saw a comparable vanity at Bed Bath & Beyond today for $179. Holy crapaloni, I scored.
If you're reading this, Christy, thanks for all your help!!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Fall: The Good and the Bad
Since Labor Day has come and gone, in my mind, summer is officially over.
The good side:
1. My favorite season is here!
2. Pumpkin scented candles are officially in stores again (I went searching yesterday).
3. Soon, I won't be wearing shorts anymore. Thank god, because my giant legs were in terrible shape this summer and I stress every time they have to see the light.
4. Football starts and I love all of the food and drinks that go along with tailgating.
5. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are so stinking close!
6. I'm going to Vegas, baby!
7. Craft shows are among us.
8. Cooler weather = more cuddles.
The bad side:
1. Long hours start at work (I just need to get over my hard-headed, money-needing attitude and quit already!)
2. I only enjoyed the river a handful of times this summer.
3. Soon, I'll have to wear jeans again. This is bad because my giant legs were in terrible shape this summer and I know I'll stress every time I have to squeeze into a pair of those things again.
4. Football starts and I can't stand (don't understand) the sport.
5. Next summer I'll be another year older and another year closer to being forced into a one piece swimming suit for the rest of my life.
The good side:
1. My favorite season is here!
2. Pumpkin scented candles are officially in stores again (I went searching yesterday).
3. Soon, I won't be wearing shorts anymore. Thank god, because my giant legs were in terrible shape this summer and I stress every time they have to see the light.
4. Football starts and I love all of the food and drinks that go along with tailgating.
5. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are so stinking close!
6. I'm going to Vegas, baby!
7. Craft shows are among us.
8. Cooler weather = more cuddles.
The bad side:
1. Long hours start at work (I just need to get over my hard-headed, money-needing attitude and quit already!)
2. I only enjoyed the river a handful of times this summer.
3. Soon, I'll have to wear jeans again. This is bad because my giant legs were in terrible shape this summer and I know I'll stress every time I have to squeeze into a pair of those things again.
4. Football starts and I can't stand (don't understand) the sport.
5. Next summer I'll be another year older and another year closer to being forced into a one piece swimming suit for the rest of my life.
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