Monday, January 30, 2012

Progress - Week 2


 
Update on last week:

  1. Work: get caught up on email; consolidate and start working on my "To Do" list. (On Tuesday, this looked good, by Friday...disaster! I'm giving myself half credit because I did it, but then didn't maintain. Same goal again this week.)
  2. Health: work out at least four times for at least 30 minutes each (start slow - no need to kill myself, I want to create a habit I can keep for the rest of my life without resentment or angst); make good food choices - not too much sugar or salt. (Ditto above - except going to revise a bit this week. I decided to have snacks while I finished Season 2 of Modern Family instead of working out. Good choice? maybe/maybe not....)
  3. Home: look at three rental properties (at least) - try to put down a deposit on one for move in on March 1 - if none are good, then find at least three more to see next week; book my flight home for first week in February. (DONE! YEA!!! And I think I found a place!)
  4. Wealth: get organized; pay bills; switch the house payment deduction to the new checking account. (Done!)
  5. Head: blog at least three times. (Done, and overachieved on this one - YEA!)
  6. Soul: finish one art journal page; start "special" art project; write my Soul Restoration 2 goals (finish week 3 assignments). (ARGH - I thought I had this one until I re-read it today - I got the first two done, but didn't finish my SR2 goals.)
  7. Heart: grace and gratitude. (I'm a work in progress on this one. This one is really tough, but I'm trying.)

This week:

  1. Work: get caught up on email; consolidate and start working on my "To Do" list.
  2. Health: I'm not even going to kid myself on this one - I'm going home this week, and then taking a road trip back over the weekend. Instead of the food and the working out, let's start with something simpler that will probably help with the other two - I’ll commit to getting at least 6 hours of sleep for at least 5 days this week - keepin' it real.
  3. Home: put down a deposit on rental; paint lights and vents at home; take care of all necessary relo paperwork; make hotel reservations for trip back; pack up and drive my car back to WI.
  4. Wealth: pay bills; make sure all relo expenses have been submitted and paid.
  5. Head: blog at least three times.
  6. Soul: finish "special" art project; write my Soul Restoration 2 goals.
  7. Heart: grace and gratitude.

New day, new week – embracing the journey – hills and valleys.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Will The Real Wisconsin Please Stand Up?

Somebody lied to me!  Bait and switch, I say!

The weather had been so lovely (relatively speaking), and then when I went to work the other day - in no-snow - something dreadful happened while I wasn't looking!

When I went to the office, it was a bit cloudy and chilly, but not bad.  I had a meeting in another building at 11:00 AM and we were starting to have a few snow flurries.  When my meeting ended, it looked like this:

Pretty! 

Whatever....

This was taken at 4:00 pm!  It took me a good 10 - 15 minutes to scrape that stuff off my car (AND I WAS IN MY ONE PAIR OF BLACK FLATS!).  Not only did I not have the proper foot gear on this day, but I was also without gloves, hat or scarf.  SERIOUSLY unprepared!

For those of you new to this kind of weather, it's not a good idea to walk through the snow wearing pants with cuffed hems.  I am speaking from experience:  those cuffs filled up with snow, and I carried it around with me everywhere I went.

Anyway, I still had to go back to my office and grab my computer and bag before I could go home.  I got on the road about 5:05, and it took me almost 45 minutes to drive 3.5 miles.  That's crazy! 

Turns out the average snowfall here for January is 11 inches. We got 9.5 of those inches within a 4 - 5 day period. 

Needless to say - I've worn the boots - and I no longer wear cuffed pants.

To add insult to injury, on the days that it is not snowing, the temperature is incompatible with life.


I took this picture with my phone as I was pulling into the office the other morning.  I thought the song was rather ironic.  That's right, it says it's 1 degree outside.

That evening, when I got back into the car to go home, this is what it said...


Awesome.

It was a heat wave - warmed up one whole degree.  Wooo hooo!

Ok - this isn't fun any more - I'm ready for it to go back to the way it was when I first arrived.

Friday, January 27, 2012

First Day of School

Do you think I slept?

If you answered NO, you would be correct.  I don't sleep very well most of the time, but when I'm away from home I really don't sleep well.  Then, add to that all the anxiety of being alone and starting a new job, and I think I may have slept about 2 hours the first night.


Do I look skeerd?  Hmmm....  Ok, breathe, laugh at yourself, and try again.


That's a little better.  Notice the black suit - I was trying really hard to be a grown up.  I haven't worn it since my first day, but I'm thinking of breaking that bad boy out again this week - if for no other reason than to see how much weight I've gained in the past few weeks.  (ARGH! but that's another story...)


Lovely, no snow!  YEA!!  My first week, it was in the 30's and 40's and there was no snow.  AWESOME!!!  This isn't going to be as bad as everyone led me to believe - maybe I was over-reacting a bit when I bought those snow boots.  I probably won't ever wear them. (hah - just wait...)


What?!  Are you kidding me?  A parking spot of my very own... and it's in the second row!  It doesn't matter how late I'm running, I will always have a spot close to the door, and it's even got my name on it (kinda)!  I'm in love, are you? 


And this is my new 'home away from home.'  I'd spent the day in here putting a few things up and trying to get organized.  The building is very 'industrial' and 'lofty' with the exposed pipes, vents and brick.  I kinda like the vibe. 

You see all that paper on the back part of the desk?  Most of it is gone.  Well - not really gone,  I still have the one pile on the left, the rest has been hidden. I have no idea what's in those folders, so I probably could have thrown it away, but I kept it just in case I need it in the future.  That last remaining pile - that puppy is a goner this week - that's my goal.  I hate hanging onto paper - I'm going electronic, baby.


Facing the other direction, it's not such a good view this way, but I'll bring some art in and it will get better.  It definitely needs some COLOR!!  (I had to close the door so people wouldn't see what a big dork I was taking pictures of my office!  They didn't need to learn that on the first day - we'll just let 'em learn that over time.)


Did you notice that it's dark outside? It was probably about 4:30 pm. Yeah, it gets dark REALLY early here. I'm not loving that part, I need a grow light or a tanning bed... maybe both - but I only want the grow light if it makes me grow taller, not wider! :-)

So, that's it.  I'm all nested in.  It's nice to feel settled in somewhere.  Now, I just have to find a real home for my non-work life.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Packing

Back to the regularly scheduled programming - catching up with what's been happening this month...

Note to self:  it's not a good idea to try to pack up your life and move halfway across the country during the holidays.

Geez!  After I accepted the Kohler offer, I thought I would be able to relax and enjoy the holidays.  WRONG!  The entire time, I had all the usual Christmas pressures, PLUS I was trying to get the house ready to go on the market, say goodbye to all my peeps, figure out what I needed to take with me for the first 30 days, visit with Chicken Little, and do all the pre-job prep.  It was not relaxing - to say the least...


Humph - well, at least it wasn't relaxing for me!  The man seemed to be pretty chill - wearing shorts in December - don't think I'll see that again any time soon!


I started gathering winter 'gear'.  The hat - not so functional, but cute.  And the boots...


...not so cute, but oh, so functional.  No, I did not buy these at a store in Texas - I had to order them online. Was very happy they arrived before I left town!  They are cold rated down to -25 F.  Although, I have to say that if it gets that cold here, I won't be wearing these because I will not be leaving the house!  They are GI-NORMOUS.  I wanted to make sure I could wear thick socks with them, so I ordered a size and a half bigger (they only came in whole sizes).  Yep, they're a bit floppy, but they keep my feet dry and warm so it's all good.  :-)

Let the packing begin:



I had to pay overweight, checked bag fees for this big boy.  It was 75 lbs!  But it was nice to have so much stuff with me when I got here.  I ended up checking three bags and carrying on two - thought I might have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it!

Then, I packed up about 5 boxes and Joe shipped them to me at the hotel.  You never know what you're going to need, it was really tough to decide what to take and what not to take.  If I thought I might want it, I packed it - I figured it would have to get up here at some point, right?



Yes, I did bring the slippers, but I haven't used them.  My big super wool socks don't really fit in them, and I'm not giving up the warm socks for nuthin'!

I wish that I had left the slippers and brought a couple more pairs of work shoes.  I don't know why I decided to be prudent when it came to the number of shoes I packed - I only have one pair of black flats.  Really?!  What was I thinking?!  I wear black flats almost everyday.  I would have bought another pair already, except that the closest DSW is about 50 miles away.


I don't think my closet has had this much open space since I moved into the house.  I'm concerned that Joe has filled it all up with his stuff since I've been gone.


Last, but not least, I had to make sure I packed all of my study materials so I would be ready on my first day.  :-)  And on January 2nd, I loaded it all up and flew to Milwaukee so I could start work the next day.

Another note to self:  when moving and starting a new job, allow more than 10 hours between the arrival of your flight and showing up to the office.

That was it - bye bye house, bye yard, bye pool, bye Mexican food and normal donut stores (OMG!), bye warm, bye green almost all year. Bye craft room and art supplies (for now).  Bye peeps - that part was really tough!

It was so hard to leave my home, but it just felt like I was going on a really long business trip. Denial?  Maybe, but whatever it takes to make it through the day, right?!  I still don't know if it's sunk in that this is really happening. However, I will admit that the first snow storm up here, was a bit of an eye-opener (not so much in a good way.)

And I'm shufflin', shufflin'....  (that is shuffle, not shovel - no shoveling for me yet as long as I'm in temporary housing someone else handles the shoveling - thank goodness!)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Progress

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this brief message:

Have you picked a word for this year?  This seems like a big thing to do in the blog-world.  Last year, because I was a new kid and I wanted to fit in, I picked the word "HEAL", and 2011 was a doozy! I prayed for strength and healing, and the whole year was full of challenges and sickness and pain (physical, fiscal and emotional).  Lucky me!  I got to experience the 'healing' all year long! I'm just sayin', be careful what you ask for...

Now that I've been around the bloggy block a time or two, I'm not quite so eager to jump on this bandwagon.  I don't want to set myself up again, and I certainly don't want to limit 2012 to just one theme. Instead, I'm going to focus on making progress - one step forward at a time ("forward" being the most important part of that sentence).   I don't have a single word for 2012, and I'm really good with that.  I figure, it doesn't matter what I call it, as long as I DO it.

(How's that for making progress already?!)


From here on out, everyday will be Day One - with the same excitement and fresh start that Day One always brings.  And, to keep myself focused on incremental forward  progress (and to force some accountability), every Monday I'm going to post my goals for the week.  Don't expect anything earth shattering - just simple, forward-progress, one-step-at-a-time kinda stuff that hopefully, by the end of 2012, will add up to a happier, more focused, more fulfilled, and more grace-full me. 

I can't imagine why you'd be interested in this particular thread of posts.  However, if you are, I'll also include an update on how I did on last week's goals.  (If you're not interested, then count this as your official warning to avoid my Monday posts.)  :-)

So, here goes... my goals for this week are:
  1. Work:  get caught up on email; consolidate and start working on my "To Do" list.
  2. Health:  work out at least four times for at least 30 minutes each (start slow - no need to kill myself, I want to create a habit I can keep for the rest of my life without resentment or angst); make good food choices - not too much sugar or salt.
  3. Home:  look at three rental properties (at least) - try to put down a deposit on one for move in on March 1 - if none are good, then find at least three more to see next week; book my flight home for first week in February.
  4. Wealth:  get organized; pay bills; switch the house payment deduction to the new checking account.
  5. Head:  blog at least three times.
  6. Soul:  finish one art journal page; start "special" art project; write my Soul Restoration 2 goals (finish week 3 assignments).
  7. Heart:  grace and gratitude.
That's it.  Wow!  That seems like a lot of stuff when I write it all down, but imagine how thrilling it will be when I accomplish all of this!  YEAH, BAY-BEEEE!!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Journey


I began this journey in the early fall. It started first on the phone, but quickly moved to a visit to tiny Kohler, Wisconsin.  Wow - it's beautiful here.


After spending a day in Kohler, my next stop was Milwaukee where I realized there was a giant lake up here, doh!

And some really cool old houses... 


Second leg of the journey, back to Kohler to explore the area. Hmmm... would I really want to work here?  to live here?!  Considering and thinking...


Everyone was so nice, and the weather was really cooperating!  (Everyone kept telling me that it was unusually warm - let's just say we were all on our best behavior!)


LOVE these green slate roof shingles!


These were all taken at The American Club - where we stayed during this trip. It's a five diamond resort, with some pretty cool history behind it. It was awesome! During this second trip, we also went to a Green Bay Packers game - that was fun - but pretty darn cold!


The American Club has a lot of history - it was built in the early days of Kohler Company, as a sort of boarding house for Kohler employees (mostly immigrants). Our room was kind of small, but the bathroom was amazing (of course!). 


The building twists and turns for days - I kept getting lost and ending up on the wrong floor (regardless of the one I was trying to find).  I thought it was cool that one of the restaurants, the Horse & Plow Pub, used to be a bowling alley for the workers.

The day before Thanksgiving, I got the call.  They made me an offer to move to Kohler, WI and work for Kohler Company.


Oh my goodness - this is exciting - but oh, so scary!  I have to pick up my life and move to a completely 'foreign' part of the country?  New job, new home, new life...the journey continues...

Monday, January 16, 2012

Screwed it up

I don't know what the heck is going on.  I have changed my banner a million times, and now I can't seem to get it right - on my computer it's showing up HUGE!!!

ARRRGH!!!  It's late, I just wanted to change it from Christmas and do a quick post and I've been messing with that darn banner for an hour now. 

Ugh!

Oh well,  in the words of Scarlett O'Hara:  I'll think about that tomorrow, because after all tomorrow is another day. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Focus

I'll be back in a few days with news and an update, but right now I have to focus on the tasks at hand. Wish me luck!

Talk atcha later. :-)