Almost Started a New Job

I applied for a program coordinator position at a non-profit organization that is literally 4 blocks from my house. I submitted my application, then contacted the HR director via LinkedIn to introduce myself and make sure she received my application. I honestly think it was a great move to director her to see what I’m about.

I went to the interview on a Wednesday. I prepped the night before by brushing up on key facts about the organization and going over what I would say about myself. I could tell they were impressed. They even mentioned that they just posted a volunteer coordinator position that they think I would be qualified for, if I was interested. I received a call the next day asking my permission to contact my current supervisor. I really appreciated that they asked me first because she wasn’t aware that I was looking into this new position. I had a quick chat with her about expecting their call and to my surprise was extremely supportive.

I got a call on Friday that I didn't get the program coordinator position, but they wanted me to come in for interview for the volunteer coordinator position the following Tuesday. I went not feeling completely in love with the position, but after hearing more about it I was interested. I received a call Wednesday saying that they wanted to offer me a position, but it wasn't going to be what I was expecting. They wanted to offer me the first position because their original choice declined. I accepted and we set my start date for 2/25/13.

I was excited, but didn't want to tell my employer yet because I wanted to live off of the high and wasn't ready to deal with everyone knowing I was leaving, wrapping up loose ends and answering questions. My plan was to wait until Monday to give my two weeks notice.

I received a little feedback about being second choice, but I didn’t care, I was just happy to have an offer and the chance to move one step closer to my career goals. The organization has a fairly good reputation for being a great non-profit to work for with exceptional benefits and I could walk to work. I was excited!

Friday I received a call from the HR director saying that she hated to tell me, but the position was being placed on hold for a month while the executives reviewed whether they actually needed the position. I was disappointed, but still had hope that they would realize they needed it. I was also really grateful that I hadn't put in my 2 weeks yet and that they told me this lovely info before I was actually in the position.

I followed up this Monday, the day I was supposed to start, and got the final answer. They have decided to shift responsibilities around among the current staff.

I noticed something really odd after I was offered the position. I was feeling really sentimental and attached to my current place of employment. I've spent three years learning about the trucking industry  and realized it was probably something I would never dabble in again. The day after I was offered the position my department had a mini field trip to the new coffee shop across the street and it hit me that I was going to be leaving these people, and that I actually really do like them. I am in no way against change. I love it, so my sights were set on the new experiences. After all of this I’m okay where I’m at. Thankfully I don’t wake up dreading work and my job allows a lot of flexibility. 

I change my mind daily about whether I should keep looking or just take advantage of the comfort and flexibility my job offers as I finish my masters degree and focus on Arriba Latinas, a mentoring program I’m building with two other amazing ladies. 

The End of Winter Break

My husband's winter vacation has come to an end. He started working in Arizona this week. The crazy thing is they got a contract in AZ where the weather is warmer, but it actually snowed the day they were supposed to start. 

Most of my nights were busy, but as it got closer to the weekend I was feeling the loneliness. Friday night I got dressed up for dinner with friends. It was fun, but I missed my partner in crime. 

Dinner After Taxes

Our taxes are done. We thought we would owe since Jose was paid on a 1099, where they don't take taxes out of your earnings. We were setting aside 25% of his check that would go towards taxes. It was surprisingly positive news though, we got a nice return, plus all the money we had saved up. We treated ourselves to a dinner date at Two-Bit Street after hearing the good news.

It's hard not to go spend crazy, we already have a big list of all the things we want to do with the money, but there must be something wrong with me because I feel so guilty spending it. I remind myself of  my grandma, who grew up in the depression, she has the money now but won't spend it. Blahhh, I shouldn't let it take over too much of my thoughts, because remember my new years lifestyle change for 2013 was to not make money such a big deal. It comes and goes...I just like being smart about it. Control freak! 

Valentine’s Day and My 25th Birthday

It’s Valentine’s day and my 25^th birthday and I love it! Twenty-five feels like a good age to me. I enjoy getting older and growing as a person. Maybe I’m not where I thought I’d be, but it’s where I’m supposed to be. 

For the past 14 days I've been receiving sweet gifts from my biggest fan—my mom.  

    

When I got to work today I found this on my desk from my dad. It’s his thing and it’s really special to me because he’s away working, but remembered. He would always send me flowers at school on my birthday, now that I have to be an adult I loved getting them at work.

I love this día de amor y amistad. It’s not just for lovers, but for friendship. I was able to have my friends Ashley and Kevin over this week for a little Valentine’s dinner, drink and conversation. I wish I would've remembered to snap a picture of the 3 of us.

Jose says he doesn't care about Valentine’s day but one year I gave everyone Valentine cards and not him and he was butt hurt. So this year I decided I was going to be cheesy and love on him. I saw this idea that my cousin, Asa, did for his fiancé and thought I’d steal and tweak it. I placed 52 card throughout the house with things I love about him! 

At work we had lunch from Chik-Fil-A and my favorite, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It’s fun sitting around bullshitting with my department. 

 

That was a whole lot going on for one post, but I want to end off with this little playlist of songs that remind me of my love for my husband. P.S. I recently started using Spotify and I love it! 

It was such a great birthday with the people I love. There's more to come this weekend at Sunday family dinner. I hope you had a special Valentine's Day! 

New Phones

Our phone contract is up in March so we've been planning on getting new phones. When the iPhone 5 came out we really thought we wanted it, but as the time got closer we started exploring all of the options. We stopped by the mall to check out phones and to get an idea of how much we were going to spend. Of course the salesman told us we were actually eligible for the upgrade at 20 months rather than 24 months. We liked the HTC DNA, but after reading more about it the battery life sucks and it doesn’t let you add extra memory.

This is strange but after we looked at phones we noticed that our current phones started messing up more and more. Everything would force close and they were going really slow. Facebook just kept shutting down, and it had never done that before. What if it’s some kind of conspiracy that when you’re due for an upgrade your provide fucks with you OR it could’ve been all in our heads because we wanted the new phones so bad. I suggested we wait until March like we planned so we could finish saving up. Once Jose sees something he wants he CANNOT wait, every day I would hear about some new feature on some new phone. I think it got to me because I caved and we went to buy phones.

We decided on the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It’s huge when you first hold it, but now I don’t think I could go back to a baby screen. The large screen was appealing to me because I like to read on my phone. Jose watches a lot of video on his so it’s perfect for that. It comes with a stylus which is fun. You can draw and it converts your handwriting into text. It’s fast with its quad-core processor. It has cool motion and gesture features that let you make calls just by rotating it or screen shots by swiping your hand across it. I love the 22 hours use battery life. There are probably so many more features that I’m not taking advantage of yet, but I have two years to discover all it can do. 

Old Thunderbolt next to our new phones

February Mantra

Yesterday on Twitter The Marriage Bed tweeted something I really liked so I've decided to incorporate it as my February mantra.

I love this month of love and what better way to celebrate than focusing on giving my best to my husband. Often times I put more energy into my job, school, maintaining a home , and pleasing everyone else that he doesn't always get the best of me. I challenge you to do the same for your significant other.

Happy Love Month

♥