Hello, and Happy Valentine’s Day! Sorry it’s been a while again…

I went to Chicago the first week of February for some training and took Calista with me. My mom met us there and hung out with Calista while I worked, and we got to meet up with a friend, H, and her family at the Cheesecake Factory (my first time — very good!!). We also took Calista to the American Girl store where she got a “just like me” doll (which my mom made fun of since the doll had blue eyes and freckles, but it does (otherwise) look like Calista and it’s the one she wanted!). It was a short, but great trip.

The following week (last week), I had my monthly meeting in Seattle that I run, so that took up most of the week.

And then, yesterday, I started a new part-time job at a great little local baby store that I have been shopping at since the day it opened (when I was pregnant with the boys). Skip’s company has stopped allowing overtime (ouch), then took away quarterly bonuses (double ouch) and stopped matching 401K contributions (rat bastards). As a result, we are too tight on cash to be comfortable going on this way, so he began talk of a second job to cover the bills where we run short. However, his return home at the end of the day is a nice break for me, and I couldn’t imagine him being gone even longer. Lo and behold, I suddenly had an email that my favorite baby store sent to its mailing list saying they had a part-time weekend position open, so I told them I was interested. I know they had at least one other interview, and I think at least two others interested in the job (not sure if that other person ever interviewed), but they offered it to me. I started last night and also worked today. From here on out, I will work Saturdays and Sunday, and occasionally (maybe once a month) Fridays.

It’s barely more than minimum wage, and I could make a lot more if I wanted to take on more web/graphic design jobs, but honestly, I’m getting burned out. It is so nice to go to work, do the job, go home at the end and be done with it. It also helps that I know the people (seeing as I’ve been shopping there from the start!) and I know and love the products. It’s a trendy/crunchy kind of store, and they have great stuff. I have no problem talking up the products because I love the products!!

Anyhow, we’ll see where it leads. Tonight, I thought it would be great if I could just work there full time and make enough to make ends meet, but I can’t. Partially because they don’t need another full-timer, partially because I’d have to pay my nanny more to watch the kids than I’d be making (counterproductive, to say the least!) and partially because I wouldn’t want to leave the boys all day, and they wouldn’t have a full-time evening position for me. But maybe, someday down the road, things will somehow work out. They always do, eventually!

Obviously, I’m happy I took the job. I just hope I don’t burn out too fast. It’s a long weekend this weekend with President’s day, and I don’t have to work tomorrow because I am just training, so this isn’t a real taste of how it will be. When it does get into full swing and I am working from home M-Th, then working the other job S-Su, essentially giving up my weekend free time with my family, I hope we find ways to make it all work. Since Skip can’t work overtime any more, and he generally doesn’t leave his desk/clock out for lunch, I am hoping he can maybe leave early on Fridays and that can be our Family day. We’ll see.

Pretty soon, I need to update my blog design again, too. I really love this one, but it requires some extra effort for me to post the little pictures with each post, and as you can see, I haven’t been doing it. So, as much as I think this design rocks, I need to do something a little simpler so I can blog more and mess with pictures less. Besides, I have even less free time now than I did before!!

Well, time to go relax in bed. Tomorrow I hope to work on my garden some more (I’ve started digging up a corner of our backyard in preparation) and hey… maybe take down the Christmas lights. :)

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