Two Weeks Notice

After 7 long years at the same company, I put in my two weeks notice today. It was really bittersweet. We had planned for this for the past several years, but up until now it was just something we talked about. Today it became real.

I really like my co-workers, they are a lot of fun and make work more enjoyable. Earlier this year I received the promotion I had been working toward a long time. I felt very confident in my ability to do my job and do it efficiently and well. I had been on the team a long time and was one of the "go to" people. I was able to answer just about any question that arose. It felt good that people were able to count on me. I was a really good employee and felt confident in my abilities. It took time to get to that level and I am sad to leave.

I am quitting to be a stay at home mom. I know its not for everyone, but I want to be with my daughter and help her to grow into a smart and pretty woman. I don't want to miss any firsts and want to enjoy every minute of her babyhood. I don't know think I will stay at home forever, but for now this is the plan.

Adjustments

So the first two weeks home with my new daughter were pretty easy. She sleeps a lot of the time and when she was awake, she was typically happy. I would talk to her and tell her about our family and she would look into my face and be cute. However, she has started being fussy whenever she is awake. This frustrates me. I feel like a bad parent for hoping my child stays asleep all day, just so I don't have to deal with the unhappiness. I realize its just a stage and that she will probably grow out of it soon, but its not fun in the moment.

The adjustment to being at home isn't too hard. I still think about work sometimes. I e-mailed my boss yesterday to wish her a Happy Boss' day and reminded my teammates about it, since I'm the one who typically took care of that type of thing. At the same time, I don't really miss having to get up early to leave the house. Besides I can't get my hair to not be a mess lately and I'm leaking everywhere! I can only manage to look presentable for a short time and I can't imagine not being with my baby all day (even when she is crying).

We visited the doctor yesterday. She has gained 10 oz and grew 1 1/2 inches in two weeks. That's crazy! She is growing so fast!

Day One

I had a daughter almost two weeks ago. My life has changed so much. We wanted a child and planned for this baby a few years back. Matt and I figured out what our pre-children goals were and made a plan to reach them. When the time was right, we started trying and we were very blessed in that it didn't take long for me to become pregnant. I was fortunate to have an easy pregnancy. Yes, I did have morning sickness, I got tired much more easily and towards the end, Matt had to help tie my shoes, but overall I had it pretty good.

We decided to do a homebirth, which was great, but that's a story for another day.

Today is my first day home alone with the baby while Matt's at work. Its kind of cool, kind of scary, since this is my new normal. I'm sort of excited and slightly apprehensive. Will I get board? Can I finally keep the house clean? Am I going to go crazy craving adult interaction? Time will tell, but today is the day that our adventure begins.

Happy Valentine's Day

Celebrity

Today I happened to be in the neighborhood of the restaurant where I used to work. I was there for over 8 years starting in high school and ending after I was married and working full time at another job. Its been at least a year since I last stopped by the restaurant, but there were still many of the same servers.

Everyone is always so nice and happy to see you when you go back and visit. There were a few new employees and when one of them started to greet me like a customer, one of my old co-works was like, "that's Tanya, she used to work here, she's cool." Its so fun to reminisce and see pictures of everyone's children that have grown a foot, since I saw them last.

My old boss even bought me breakfast, which was really nice. I need to go back more often, its nice to be a celebrity.

100 Times

There are some songs that are so amazing. They touch you on an emotional level and you can listen to them 50 times in a row and you just have to hit "play" one more time.


Coldplay does a great job with the original, but I like this cover. The harmonies send shivers down my spine.


There are so many covers of this Lenard Cohn song, but Jeff Buckley's version is classic to me.

So what are your favorites? The songs you just can't get enough of hearing.

Judging a Book by its Cover

I joined a website called Goodreads.com, where you can keep track of what you have read and share your book reviews with friends. It reminds me of what I used to do with Blogging for Books, back when I wrote a lot more than I do now.

It will be interesting to discover how many books I read in a year. Its never crossed my mind to keep track in the past. My goal is 50 books for 2012, but its only January 23rd and I'm 16% of the way to the finish line. I may have to adjust that.

They also do giveaways and I entered to win some of them. There are hundreds you could try and win, but I don't want to get a book that I wouldn't be at least halfway enjoy reading. Many of the authors are new to me. To figure out what contests I want to enter, I'm doing it. I'm judging books by their cover.

I know, its not the "right" thing to do. Time should be spent discovering what the book contains on the inside. But, when you don't have a lot of time, or can't realistically make the effort (reading the book before entering the contest to win it, is kind of silly) what else should you do?

This can be true for people, too. I realize you should try and get to know people before you judge them. But sometimes its not realistic and you have to decide in a short amount of time how you feel. Take a job interview, you have 30 minutes to judge if this person will be a good fit for a company. Why is it okay for an organization to look at how a person is dressed along with a few minutes of conversation, but if an individual were to do the same thing, they would be "judgmental"?

Just like authors work hard to pick books that will attract you, people do the same everyday.

Delight

For some reason, I never get invited to big New Years Eve Bashes. Sometimes my husband and I will try to host a party and while our parties are fun, we typically only get two or three "yes" responses. This year we decided to have our own two person party. We made little smokes and chicken wings, and watched some Pirates of the Caribbean.

Can you believe, we have never seen the movies before now? I got the Lego game for Christmas, so we decided it was time to see the movies also.

The best part was just after midnight. There were several people in our neighborhood who decided to set up fireworks. I LOVE fireworks so much! There is something magical and beautiful about them that just makes me happy. I was standing outside in the surprisingly warm night air breathing in the faint scent of explosives, while watching the fire light up the sky. This year I want to remember to take delight in things. I want to enjoy every minute.

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4