Leaving work for the last time...

I'm posting as I finish cleaning off my hard drive and packing up the last little bit of my things. Bitter sweet to be leaving for the last time.

My new cell phone came in time though so I was able to get my number transferred over...no contact transfer from a blackberry to a regular phone though so I have to re input everyone. Blek!

I *think* I have everything...I filed for unemployment, my email has an away from office message, etc. I'm having trouble logging off for the last time...

Oh well, I'll be back online at home in about 2 weeks.

3 more days...

WOW! 4 months have gone by fast...

It has been a crazy week. Starting with lunch plans with a former co-worker on Tuesday and then a commendation and such at the council meeting Tuesday night. The hubs came over for that one as well as much of my staff and the co-workers who were "on duty" that night which was very nice. Afterwards we went down to Huntington Beach for dinner (just me and the hubs). Wednesday I had a nice long lunch at the beach with another former co-worker and then dinner out with some other friends (former co-workers) that night. I had another lunch date on Thursday and one again today. Next week Monday I have plans to walk at lunch with our city manager and on my last day (Tuesday the 30th), they are throwing a luncheon for me that they sent the invitation to all 4,000 people that work here. Crazy!

I don't know anywhere close to everyone here and have no idea who will be attending but they have been getting "alot of calls" wanting to know if they were doing anything for me (which they weren't) so they had to do the scramble to plan something. Kinda nice I guess even if the people I actually work with needed a kick in the ass to arrange something. I have been here 9 1/2 years afterall.

We ordered a home computer a couple days back but it will be 2 weeks before it arrives...then a few more days before Verizon comes to get the FIOS set up so we will be without internet access for 2+ weeks...not sure how I will survive;)...

Saying my goodbyes...

It is harder than I thought to tell people I am leaving and say goodbye. I went to what is considered "headquarters" yesterday to have lunch with some former co-workers before my last day. As is always the case I ran in to many people that I don't see often because of my work location. We all work for the same organization but not out of the same buildings so our meetings are infrequent.

I am always met with shock that my position is being eliminated and the first question is, "Well, where are you moving to?" Followed by, "But it's you, there has to be something!" I have to say this always surprizes me. I mean, I know I am good at my job, dedicated, trust worthy, etc. etc. but in my mind all employees are this way, or at least should be. The more I talk to people about what is going on here the more appauled I am at the jackassery that is rewarded with promotions instead of firings throughout this organization. It is crazy the seeming idiots that get promoted around here. Many I don't know personally but when everyone who finds out they have been promoted says, "They promoted that idiot???" When that many people say the same thing I tend to think the person they are talking about is really an idiot.

Since an idiot I am not but still they are letting me go, I find it hard to believe that after the 4 months this has been known that anyone is going out of their way to try and keep me around. Now, sure I have had conflict with others in the past and I am by no means perfect, but you will never find someone who has worked with me who will tell you I wasn't good at my job. I guess had I been a slacker around here maybe I would be being promoted instead?

So today I went to a luncheon hosted by our local Chamber. I have been our agency representative for this organization for the better part of 6 years and they invited me to come. Usually my organization picks up the tab and recently others have been attending on our behalf now that I am leaving but this time the Chamber treated (my boss who ended up coming had to pay though) which was nice of them. As I was leaving the office I told my boss where I was going and he of course didn't even know today was the meeting...nice. Not a big deal if he had assigned someone else to attend on our behalf, but he had not. So basically had they not invided me to attend no one would have been there. When I told him the meeting was starting in 10 minutes he told me he would be right behind me and ended up coming for the first part before having to leave.

Anyways, it is always nice to have lunch and visit with the local business community...that was until the board asked me to come up front. WHAT? They didn't tell me there was going to be any pomp and circumstance! They knew had they told me in advance I would not have come:). A little embarassing, but flattering at the same time; it was actually nice for them to rave about all my hard work and what an asset I had been and what a huge hole was going to be left in my place with my boss sitting right there. Afterall, he is the one who offered to give up my position in the interest of saving money...whatever. I'm much sadder (is that a word? lol) than I expected to be and I truly am going to miss this place and all the great people I have had the opportunity to work with over the last 6 years in this position. Not to mention the over 9 years I have with the organization. I have learned so much and am finding that I have so many friends that I will be leaving as well. This is going to be harder than I thought.

I have been trying to so hard to keep my "it is what it is" attitude about all of this that I hadn't let myself admit that I'm truly sad to be leaving. It's more than the slap in the face of "hey, you are the least valuable player on the team so we decided to cut your position", which of course is hurtful; but I'm truly sad that I won't get to interact with everyone in this community everyday. It really has been a great run...

So after they presented me with a very nice commendation we had the rest of the meeting and then the raffle that always ends these luncheons. I bought tickets and didn't win anything but its always fun to try. Secretly I was hoping (actually sent up a little prayer) to win the beautiful bouquet of flowers that was one of the items, but I didn't. One of the board members did however, and when he was walking back to his seat, he came by my table and set them in front of me. He thanked me for my service and wished me well. I was floored, so very sweet of him! I took a picture with my crackberry since most of my equipment (digital camera included) has been turned in...um taken from me. It's not the best shot but here you go:

9 days and counting...

So, I had what I feel was a GREAT interview yesterday. It is for a consulting position with a local city that is having some crime problems. They need someone to come in and run a PR campaign, liaison with their law enforcement provider, etc. It's right up my alley so we will see...if it's where I am supposed to be I have total faith that it will work out! T-minus 9 more works days...

In the meantime I am SO EXCITED to see all my cousins this weekend. Everyone is coming to town for a shower we are throwing for one of the sisters who is getting married. I just love her to pieces and can't wait to celebrate her!!! Her mom and sisters (the cousins) are coming which is fun because everyone is in a different state. My sis will be in town too so all 5 cousins will be together. This really only happens at weddings (and showers) so it should be a wonderful time!

I love weddings...such a special time for the bride and groom (but really the bride because let's face it...it's all about her). There has been some on-going drama with the groom's family, which I know is stressing her out, but all-in-all it will be a great day...I will make sure of it!:) One thing I know for sure is that I will personally "handle" anyone who tries to put a damper on the day. I honestly don't expect this to be an issue even with the crazy groom family drama, but I am mentally prepared to regulate if I have too...lol. Typically though, in my experience, even the most sour of mother-in-laws are on their best behavior when the mother of the bride and all her family are present. Typically the a-hole behavior gets saved for when there is no one to witness it besides the bride.

Ah...the joys of wedding planning:)

The countdown is on...

11 more actual work days and counting...this is so crazy to me! This will be the first time since I was 15 that I haven't had a job. If I don't work for more than 7 weeks it will also be the longest I have not worked since I was 15...just crazy! I plan to take next Friday off so that is why 11 not 12. My official last date here is June 30th. I have made about 4 different lunch dates so far between now in then. Just making arrangements to get together with former co-workers that I will likely lose touch with once I am no longer here so that will help to pass the time.

I do have to say that although I have some crazy anxiety about money and all that, I am actually looking forward to this. I finally hope to find my motivation to start exercising again!

I also plan to finish 2 quilts that I am donating to charity when they are done (nice little write-off for those), get caught up on my scrapbooking, not be rushed to get home everyday and get dinner on the table, clean my house more regularly, etc. I never thought I could be the stay at home type, but I'm thinking this might be kinda nice and now could be the perfect time to get pregnant again really. Time will tell. It does sound heavenly though to not have to get up early, dragging myself out of bed and then figuring out how to deal with the crazy mid-afternoon exhaustion that plagued my first pregnancy. I could just take a nap when I needed on because I would be at home. I could wait until later in the day to figure out what sounds good for dinner instead of be faced with wanting to puke from just thinking about the chicken I took out in the morning and then spending unbudgeted money on take-out again because the chicken just doesn't sound good by time I'm off work.

Yeah, there could be something to all this...we shall see.

Journey of the Heart weekend

This past weekend I attended the Journey of the Heart conference. What an amazing group of moms! It is a great weekend that brings bereaved moms together to remember the children they have lost. It is through a wonderful, faith-based organization called Umbrella Ministries (http://www.umbrellaministries.com/). I had the opportunity to meet some amazing women who are walking this walk and doing it with grace and love and dignity. So awesome!


The weekend ended with a dove release in memory of our lost children and was just lovely.

I powerful weekend of prayer and remembrance I am so glad I went. It is so great to walk into a room and know that everyone there knows exactly how you feel and will listen if you want to talk or just sit with you if you need to cry and won't tell you to get over it. I hope that everyone who was there got out of it exactly what they needed in this moment.

We were hosted by this beautiful lady, Daisy who is the co-founder of Umbrella Ministries. What a wonderful lady she is.

This is one of the many memory gifts we received during the weekend.

We all had the opportunity to make memory bracelets in memory of our children. So special!

Superdelish Dinner...Orzo pasta ala Me!

Ok so I don't intend to transition into a food blog but assume that every once in awhile I might feel the need to share...like today!

So Friday night we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Not our favorite place but we had $50 in gift cards from mypoints.com (you sign up and shop through them, click on emails, etc. and earn points...I can refer you if you like - shameless plug;)

Anyways, I had a great salad and was craving it again so I created my own. I had left over shredded chicken from tacos the night before. To make these I boiled 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded and then fried them for a bit with some fresh pepper, garlic salt and some taco seasoning. Use whatever chicken you like. I believe there was 1-1 1/2 cups...about 1/2 from the night before.

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded chicken (1 large breast)
1/2 box orzo pasta - al dente
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 container cherry tomatos, halved
1/2 c pine nuts, roasted
2 tbsp basil, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 container capers
1 small can chopped black olives
1/2 c. or more shaved parm.

Dressing - whip the following together:
Juice of 2 lemons (mine where home grown and very juicy...add more to adjust to your taste)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2-1/3 c olive oil
fresh cracked pepper
rock salt, to taste (I use mine from a grinder)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove minced garlic

In a large mixing bowl add tomatos, baby spinach, and pine nuts (I roasted these for about 2 minutes in a hot pan sprayed with cooking spray).

Drain pasta but do not rinse. Pour over spinach and toss together. This will wilt the spinach.

Add remaining ingredients and toss together. Plate individual servings (makes 3-4) and shave a bit more cheese over the top. Serve.

Just YUM! The hubs even loved it...rarely do I cook without a recipe but this one turned out great if I do say so myself. I will be doing this for Mother-in-law night in a few weeks. I served this with a spicy merlot, but any red you like would really go great. At the restaurant I had their version with a chianti.