Mama's got a brand new...

Camera.

Finally.

Seriously. My old pink Sony Cybershot was a gift back in 2005. It's nearly 2012, people. And I now have a child. I should not be relying on my iphone to capture priceless memories. Ye Olde Sony Cybershot had an amazing 4.5 megapixels. High tech, I'm tellin' ya.

I'd been thinking about procuring a new camera for awhile. My bff, Kelli, got a refurbished DSLR months ago and I've been green with envy and drooling over her sharp pictures ever since. I thought about it and sadly, decided that I'm not the kind of person who needs a DSLR. Namely because I'm cheap and can't afford it, even a refurb. I put it on the back burner for awhile. I think I previously mentioned how insanely busy I've been. Then I started thinking about Christmas cards....and I realized that I don't have any pictures of Ryan, or me, or Paul since May. How did this happen? I mean, I have some pictures. They're all on my iphone and half are of Ryan sleeping or are blurry.

It just so happens that I stumbled into $100 I had previously saved and forgotten about. I saved this $100 in 2003 and forgot about it. Seriously, 8 years ago. Anyways, so I had that and then I also got $100 from my work for completing the wellness incentive. So I was suddenly $200 richer. Anyways, rambling story short, I got a new camera today and I love it.

I actually ended up with another Sony Cybershot. Ye Olde Cybershot circa 2005 still works and served me well. Plus, the one I got has awesome reviews and was in my price range. It's not pink but its pretty freaking sleek and the quality of the pictures is just amazing. I guess I've been living in the stone age because my iphone was my go-to camera. I can't wait to take some awesome pictures!

I had to take a break

I've had a lot going on in the last almost three months that have kept me from keeping up with my blogging responsibilities.

First and foremost: new job. I got offered the position that I had applied for and it's been insane ever since. I officially transitioned from working in the office to working from home and I. LOVE. IT. I love it love it love it love it. I just really love being home and having a little more time with Ryan and having the flexibility to throw something in the crock pot at 2 PM. Being able to run to the store or the dentist or get a pedicure. I just really appreciate the flexibility. I am so much more productive since working from home. Partly because of the fact that the office was so social and in part that now I'm super busy. Anyways, it's going well and I really like it.

Otherwise, just life...Ryan is nearly 18 months old now and he is adept at keeping us on our toes. He loves school and is so cute marching right in there every week.

In other news, Paul also got promoted a few weeks ago. He had to spend a week in Oklahoma City and that was hard. Taking care of a kid is hard with two parents. Thank god for my parents and all the support I can get from them or else I'd never have made it. So he's doing his new job and loving it.

We've just had a lot going on.

But let's be honest. The REAL reason that drove me to update my poor neglected blog was that Shutterfly is once again giving away 25 free photo cards to bloggers and I've GOT to get in on that again. I had a great experience with Shutterfly last year and would love to be able to send out their cards with Ryan's face plastered on them again this year.

Goodbyes.

They're hard.

They're necessary.

I'm going as far as I can go, away from here, away from you, Jake, and the hole you've sunk me into.

I wish that I could belong here with you, and just be..

but that's not all that I'm about. To do.

I'm a big proponent of removing people from your life who don't bring some benefit to it. There are too many things in the world that are stressors and the people you surround yourself with shouldn't be one of them. It's far easier said than done, though, and I'm a bit sad about it.

I probably shouldn't be sitting around

One of my best girlfriends and my maid of honor, Laura, descends on Dallas today at approximately 11:47 AM. I cannot wait. I haven't seen her since November when I went up to Chicago (you remember...we got robbed) and the the last Harry Potter part 1 movie was released.

Laura and I didn't start out as friends. We actually met online on the same messageboard that I met my husband on. Apparently that's where I meet all my husbands and/or best friends. Anyways, she helped me immensely when I bit the bullet and packed my bags to move to Illinois and she was there for me when things weren't going as I'd hoped. She even helped get me a job. And she was there for me when I quit that job. Our friendship has evolved over the years into an easy, comfortable one that just...fits. It's like sliding into a comfortable pair of jeans that fits just right and looks good too. I am so excited to see her.

She came to visit around this time last year, and Ryan was only about 2.5 months old. Now she'll get to meet my rambunctious toddler. We have some fun things planned for the weekend - Mexican food and Harry Potter Part 2 tonight, breakfast then swimming and grilling tomorrow, and shopping and lunch on Monday, which means no work for me.

I sent Paul and Ryan to Toys/Babies R Us to get more babyproofing things. You might THINK your house is baby proofed. But it's not. It never is. So I probably shouldn't be sitting around. I need to finish up some stuff around here and make myself presentable. And I don't have much time.

Luck?

Well, good news!

I got the job! Finally, after nearly a month of waiting, I got the news today that they want MEEE! I'm excited and proud and nervous and happy.

Seriously, though, this particular position is one I've had my eye on for about two years. I'm so glad that I'm going to be doing something I love and working with someone who has been such a great mentor to me over the years. Aside from all that awesomeness, it pays significantly more than what I make now, plus higher bonus, plus I get to work from home!

It's going to be a slow transition from what I'm doing now to the new role.

Anyways, we have a lot of other things going on. Between doctors and dentists and new jobs, etc, we are also remodeling our game room/family room. We, of course, procrastinated and now are in a time crunch. My good friend Laura is coming to visit and currently, the guest room is packed with all the game room stuff. So we've been working frantically each night priming and painting and laying down floor. We're nearly done and have until next Saturday to get everything back where it belongs. The walls are no longer blood red (I wish I were kidding), and the floors aren't just cement anymore, although, still only halfway covered with the new stuff. It's amazing what a little hard work gets you.

I'll try to remember to post before and after pictures.

Murphy's Law

Whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong.

That is the case today for me.

As I previously mentioned, I am trying to get promoted at work. I've applied for this position and have had the first round of interviews. I (im)patiently waited. And waited. Finally, my second interview was scheduled.

It was today at 3 PM. Oh wait, except it wasn't. It was today at 2 PM. I walked into the office of the person I was supposed to interview with (a VP) only to be informed that I was an hour (!!!!) late. Oh, I was mad. I get extremely anxious about interviews. I get an upset stomach and heart palpitations. I just have really high anxiety about those things. So when I was late (the VP didn't really care why), I kind of freaked out. Everything got all worked out and I was scheduled for 4:00.

I had to call my mom and ask her to keep Ryan a bit longer. Thankfully, she had canceled her plans for the evening and could keep him. I arranged to have Paul pick Ryan up. At 4:00, the Interviewer was still meeting with another candidate. His admin needed a quick minute (around 4:05) and then he got on a call. I was still waiting at 4:35. I wasn't sure how long I should wait. I'm glad he came out when he did.

Anyways, I am relieved to have the second interview over with. I believe it went well. Now, we wait some more. Hopefully they'll make a decision within the next week.

On one hand, I feel really good about my chances. On the other, I'm almost positive they won't pick me. I feel like I've done my best, though. I guess that's all I can do.

Naptime

I love naptime. One of the upcoming milestones for Ryan's age group is that he'll transition from two naps a day to just one nap a day. While I'm glad he's growing up, I don't know what I'm going to do when we only have one nap a day.

Right now, a typical day for us is wake around 6 AM, nap from 10ish to 11:00-11:3oish. Then lunch around 12, nap again around 3 to 4 and bed at 7. I'm expecting that in the next couple of months his nap will be from 11 to 1 and then we'll have all day to make trouble.

I'm going to miss two naps. Just during this morning nap, I've made a shepherd's pie for dinner later, done two loads of laundry and browsed the internet (and updated this blog). It's going to be hard to give that up. Someday, he won't take a nap at all. *sigh*

Anyways, Happy 4th of July, Americans! We're celebrating today by grilling out with the family and swimming. Hope you all have a super fun day!