The best thing ever. Well, this week, anyway.

Perhaps I was a little too boastful on Monday when I stated how pleased I was with myself for sticking to this month's writing challenge so well. Two days later, I missed posting. Again. Still, I'm going to take it as a win. With this post, I've posted nearly 70% of the days this month. Yay me!

Yesterday, I missed writing a letter to my former self, but I'm okay with that. I wasn't really sure what to say anyway. It seemed too similar to the What If post, and I didn't want to get at all negative.

Also, yesterday was a pretty crappy day all-around.

• Awoke to the knock of the repairman who came to fix our kitchen sink/dishwasher. Now at least I'll be able to wash dishes thereby making it easier to eat at home.
• Felt cheated out of sleep, so went back to bed after he left.
• Read with my husband for a couple hours.
• Felt sleepy and took yet another nap.

Since we both woke up at the same time due to the repairman coming, it threw off my whole schedule - which meant no exercising, no job searching, no me-time. I did clean the kitchen and make a delicious dinner, so I wasn't completely worthless all day.

But WAIT! This post is supposed to be about the best thing that happened this week.

If this post was yesterday, I'd say the best thing was receiving an email from a company on Monday requesting an interview.

Much to my surprise, the interview far exceeded receiving the email.

Yeah. You read that right.

This is probably the first ever interview that I walked away from actually excited and confident. I'll find out on Monday if they want me to come in for a 2nd interview with the owners, but I'd be really surprised if they didn't though I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.

Knowing I'll get some kind of word on Monday, makes me free to enjoy the weekend. I don't have any plans really, but at least I won't have to worry and wait by the phone.

What's the best thing to happen to you this week?

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Working in the IDS Center

I've spent the past few weeks working on the 39th floor of the IDS Center in Minneapolis. Some of you may not know this, but IDS is the tallest building in Minneapolis. The view out of the conference center is spectacular! You can see for miles! You can see 394 and Lake Calhoun and lots of downtown buildings. Gorgeous!

Today there is a storm brewing. It's incredible to watch the storm slowly making its way into downtown. Less than 5 minutes ago, we could clearly see Lake Calhoun off in the distance. Now it is completely gone...lost in the rain...

The rain hasn't hit downtown yet, but it will very, very soon...

I've never watched a storm come in from up so high.

Last Day...

Today was my last day at Hartmann & Forbes.

It was with mixed feelings that I said good-bye to those that I worked closely with for the past 3 months.

My first two months at H&F were a bit rocky, but when our receptionist left last month, and I got a few more responsibilites handed to me, I began to really enjoy my job. I felt a lot better about my job! Now the past week, I spent training others to take over all those responsibilites and more!

I learned a few things about myself while working at H&F:
1) I really dislike working in HR. This was at least my 3rd HR position, and I've never been satisfied working in this field.
2) I do not enjoy have open-ended tasks.
3) I love maintaining systems, but am not so good and creating new ones.
4) I love working with Excel and learning new functions using that software.

I'm sure there are more things that I learned, but that's it for now.

H&F turned out to be a great learning experience for you. I'm grateful for the things I learned and the people I was able to work with.

A New Reputation...

I've got a new reputation at work!

At AFP, I was always known to never turn down food--chocolate, donuts, pizza...you name it. If it was offered, I ate it. I would even make special trips to HR, where I knew there was a jar of candy--usually chocolate--just waiting for consumption.

At H&F, I'm now known as the girl trying to be good. It's been kind of good for me. It makes the temptation for snagging a free donut so much easier to resist. :-)

I'm currently in Week 3 of the ChangeOne (R) diet--snacks. Snacking has always been my downfall, but I've been very good this week. Each day so far, I've only had my 2 (100-calorie) snacks.

If you don't know what ChangeOne is, check out this website: www.changeone.com. Basically it's a 12-week program that focuses not only on weight loss, but on making healthier choices. You start off tackling Breakfast, then lunch, then snacks, then dinner. I've never made it past Week 4, so I don't know exactly what the focus is of each of the following weeks. I know there is one on eating out, one on exercise, one on keeping off the weight (I think). I know that so far, I've really learned a lot about how much I should be eating.

I haven't lost any weight yet, but I think it will come in time. Hopefully by the end of the 12-week program...

Day Two

I went to bed about three hours earlier last night than Sunday night. I still had some difficulty waking up this morning, but I had a lot more energy throughout the day. I still got a little bit tired, but I was pretty deep into one project that I didn't really notice it too much.

I did go on a short walk today. I have been eating my lunch and then going for a walk, but I think I'll try walking first tomorrow. That way, I'll be sure to get in 20 min. I think that my walk today was only 10 or 15 minutes.

In addition to my lunchtime jaunts, I've also started running again. I'm hoping to go out Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I've penciled in a few races I'd like to do this summer, so I need to get training.

Tomorrow, my computer will be all set up. I'm been using the former HR Coordinator's log-in and e-mail accounts. It will be nice to have my own. I still have access to all her files, so I can find everything that I need. They tell me she was very organized, but there is a lot of information in multiple files. One more project for me to tackle in my spare time. :-)

I had to commute on my own today. :-( It wasn't bad, but I really do enjoy the extra 90 minutes (45 minutes each way) a day with Jeff. Next term, we'll commute together 4 times each week; right now it's only twice a week.

Time to get ready for bed! Good-night. :-)

Day One

Whew! It will definitely take some time for my body to get used to my new work schedule...BUT it will be worth it.

My first day was great--besides being a little tiring. There are so many functions and processes and projects. I'm excited to be busy, and I know that I am going to learn so much in my new position.

To help my body adjust, I've decided I need to go to bed earlier, eat healthier and EXERCISE. I'm going to try to get in a 10-20 min walk each day during lunch. Today I went for about 10 min. It's all I could take because my shoes began tearing a little tiny hole in each of my ankles. Tomorrow, I need to remember to bring some good walking shoes.

If I learn nothing else (which is quite doubtful), at least I hope to develop some good personal habits.

I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity!

Human Resources Coordinator/Office Support Manager

What's that you might ask?? It's my brand-spanking new job title.

Yesterday around 4:30 p.m. I accepted a position with Hartmann & Forbes. They are a high-end window coverings manufacturer and one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in the country.

Check out our website: www.hfshades.com

I am very excited about this new opportunity! I will be doing a lot of HR functions plus helping out in the office where needed. It is a very small company--about 50 employees only. 30 of which work on the production floor. I know this will be a challenging yet very rewarding position.

Most likely, I will begin work on Monday, March 5th. Wish me luck!! :-)