UPdates

It's been awhile since I have made an entry. Last weekend my sister came for a visit. We went shopping on Saturday afternoon. That was the first time I have spent any time with her in quite awhile. The rest of the weekend I had shopping to do and errands to run and began the latest Jodi Picoult book I purchased, Nineteen Minutes. It's really good and I have been slowly reading chapters here and there.

For the past few weeks I have been working the shift I love 9 to 5:30. I have one more week on that shift before we change to working a four day, ten hours per day week. I know it will be a difficult adjustment and I am not looking forward to it. I have worked ten hour days on days where I was required to work two hours overtime. They are long. Thing is with gas prices steadily rising I will be saving one round trip per week and the travel time and food expenses so it will have many advantages. Things at work have been going well. This week my ratings were excellent which means bonus money and it has now become a comfort zone and less stressful.

Spring is here. Flowers are blooming and our grass is filling in nicely. I love the crisp air in the mornings. It's that time of year where you are not sure what to wear. You can leave the house dressed too warmly and by afternoon be too hot or you can go dressed for summer and if the temperature suddenly drops you are cold. I am wearing some summer shoes these days and looking for other things that are less warm.

Well, I am tired and going to try to get back to sleep. Going to do some shopping tomorrow.
I purchased the most beautiful summer handbag. The flowers are handmade in leather and the colors are beautiful. Honestly, it's a work of art. Will try to post a picture.

The Long and Winding Road

It's been almost two weeks since I made my last post. My life is ever changing....every day brings change and I have had to learn to roll with the punches. Some of the punches are more like kicks in the arse but I'm still on my feet so it's all okay.

At work I was granted the priviledge of working the good shift, 9a.m. until 5:30 p.m. It's been so great and I have about three more weeks of that. Then, another change. We will be changing over to a four day work week, working ten hour days. I have some serious reservations whether I can make it through four consecutive days working such long hours but time will tell. My employer has graciously given me a raise of $2 an hour which comes out to $360 a month and several thousand dollars a year. There are so many things I love about this company. Innovative and cutting edge but always thinking of the needs of their employees. Our medical benefits are really great. On Monday when I found out the good and bad news I hurried home arriving at a great time of 6 p.m. looking forward to having a dinner during the work week with my S.O.

When I arrived home he seemed trouble and I asked what was wrong. That's when I got sucker punched in the belly. His employer (where he has worked for eight years) closed down the department he worked in that day. They told him they would keep him until the place actually closed down sometime in December of 2008. They will be giving him a severance package which will be okay but not enough to actually provide any security. Then his search for a new job will begin. I couldn't even eat dinner at that point. A few hours later when I had time to process this information, I realized that we would be okay. My medical benefits are vastly superior to his.

They did offer to locate him to Boston and he is from New England. I don't want to leave my job, our house or my son. If I were to lose my job between now and then it's something to be considered but for right now I am not inclined to want to do that.

My father has had one heck of a time finding an oncologist that accepts his insurance. He is retired military and he is not allowed to use Medicare, although he worked as many years for private business as he did for the Navy. It's kind of a dirty trick because their insurance is not taken by that many doctors. I think the government should let HIM chose what he wants to use since he made tens of thousands over the year towards Medicare. I don't want to get started on healthcare in this country but suffice it to say it leaves much to be desired.

This year I think I will have a lot of change in my life. I am hoping to make a career where I am now. The longer I am there the more I like it. I am getting a comfort zone there. Thing is the job is stressful and the turn over is high.

I have been watching American Idol and one of my favorites, Michael Johns got eliminated.

Thank God for DVR. I just love this thing. Last weekend it captured "The Red Violin" one of the best movies ever. Well, time to get some things done before I watch "Fractured" tonight.

Be well and remember that life is short, do what you want to do NOW.