Creative Memories

The other day I was not a very good mood. Being home has been great but I have been having cabin fever.... BIG TIME. So I politely vented to Adam that I needed to do something. Now this fall I will still be teaching Marching Band, and then I am also going to be a substitute teacher at the same HS I teach at..... but I knew I needed something else.

I have become a Creative Memories Consultant. Creative Memories is dedicated to preserving people’s stories in a way that brings them together to socialize, have fun and celebrate their memories by putting together scrapbooks and help organize your photo collection.

Creative Memories includes Traditional ScrapBooking, ie: printing out pictures and using them in a layout (which I have been doing for a few years now) and had launched a new Digital Scrapbooking division.
Since this is something that I absolutely LOVE doing, why not make a career out of it! Granted I just became a consultant last week, but am diving head first into the whole experience.

What's great about the digital scrapbooking is that it is done all on your computer, you can upload photos right into the software (not done over an internet connection, order is done that way though) and edit, crop, and make a long lasting memories in a digital format. This if similiar to what Snapfish and Shutterfly has been doing, but I feel (and not because I am consultant now) that this software is even better.

There are two softwares used in helping assist your digital craving:
Memory Manager and Storybook Creator.

Memory Manager always you to organize your photos via uploading from you camera, or a file. I don't know about you but I can never remember what is in all my picture files on my computer. Memory Manager allows you to place files in multiple files so you can cross-reference by category as well as break it down my year, month and even day.

So, here's my sale pitch! if you are interested in any of the products or services that is provided by Creative Memories, then please contact me! I know that some of you that read this do have tons of photos you take, and I think I can be a helpful with creating lasting memories!

Other news, Koda graduated obedience class on Saturday! So proud of her and she is going to be a great dog!





So I leave you with that, and am so excited to start this new journey!

Update

Wow.... I am sorry for not updating! It has been a very crazy month of May.....

The biggest thing that happen (which I believe most of you know...) is I lost my job. Yup. "job elimination" is what they like to call it. Ever since the layoff's that happen in Dec '08, there as been rumors flying around that there was going to be another HUGE cut coming. I was so lucky to have made it through the first one, so I thought well my job is safe.... for now....

I came to work as usual on Tues April 28th and noticed that there were a lot of people from our Jersey City office. Not a huge deal, because they come often to the NYC office. So start talking checking in with people, and they are saying "oh I have mtg with my manager, not sure what it's about, maybe I'm losing my job...." The first thing I always do (did) was check my calendar for the days activities. And I noticed that my usual 1 on 1 mtg with my manager was moved from Wed afternoon to Tuesday morning 9:30a (by this time it's about 8:45am) So I go have my mtg and play stupid asking how's it going, yada yada. Then BAM! "I am sorry to tell you that you no longer have a job here, your position is being eliminated" - I then get whisked away to meet with a "Career Consultant" company who there to assist in greiving, and assist in finding a new job - don't really remember what the guy said, because well let's face it I was still in shock that I didn't have a job anymore. I stayed the rest of the day to pack up my things - I didn't have to leave that day and not come back but I sure didn't want to do work!

So I took the Wed and Thurs off to sit at home and figure out in my head what happen (still haven't figured that out and it's been a month!)

Friday May 1st started my "Notification Period" of 10 days (not including Sat/Sun) where technically they could ask me to work. Thank god my boss is a nice lady and didn't require me to do so. I came in on that Friday to finish packing and get my severance package at some crazy long meeting where they stick all us "job elimination" people in a room..... take about awkward. After that I left.



As soon as this happened, Adam was leaving to go to CT then going to Buffalo, NY for a gig he and his buddy Jeremy have been working on for Months. Adam is working for a company RWS & Associates as a Sound & Video Design for theme park shows. So that was a kicker for me, because he and I never got really talk about what happen and what's going to happen. He of course was super supportive and knew that this was tough on me.

Adam is now back and isn't going away again anytime soon :)

So what am I doing? A couple of things:

1 - We have decided that I am not going to pursue a full-time job
2 - I am going to work part-time
3- We are seriously going to start trying to have a family

About a month ago, I started feeling like I needed a change. I wasn't sure if it was a professional change or a personal change. Then all of a sudden this happened....

I have taken part-time work up at William Paterson University (My alma mater!) working their auditorium backstage. During the summer they have a lot of rentals (mostly dancing schools, for end of the year recitals) and need assistance. So that will cover me for the summer :)

I will also still be involved (even more now) with Ramapo HS Marching Band, which will carry me through the end of summer in winter.

That's about as far as I have gotten in the plans of work. Adam & I talked about it andhe feels that we will be just fine.....that is what I am worried about.... not being fine.... not being able to pay the bills, not being able to pay the mortage..... what happens if we lose the house? These are the questions I dealt with through the month of may (and still are dealing with).... Adam keep reassuring me that things will be fine. So I am putting my trust in him, and working as much as possible to help bring in money.

I am getting a severance package of 10 weeks of pay, which brings me to the end of July with what I like to call the "phantom income"

I do have to admit it is really nice not working.... not waking up at 4:45, driving to the bus and sitting in traffic into the city..... but I do miss working. When I worked I knew that I was contributing to our family..... that is why I am doing part-time work also gives me a chance to actually be a housewife too - cooking, cleaning, taking care of the dogs, laundry.....

It's definitely a change and a big question mark on the future but am ready to jump into it feet first.....

wish me luck!


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In other news, Koda is getting SOOOOO big!! And is growing by the minute! She is such a sweet girl and couldn't be more happy with her! We start obedience on June 20th through the end of July. She already knows how to walk very nicely on a lease, and she can sit :)

We like to call her our little mountain goat....



I'm most excited to head up to Eagle Rock with the family for my brother's bday celebration in a couple weeks :) Koda will be joining us, Adam has to work so he and Casey will be staying home :(

Tomorrow I am meeting up with my mom for lunch and to give her the carpet cleaner that we have had for a very long time!

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SO the month of may has been a crazy one but hope that it will slow down.... I promise to update more regularly!

Time to be a housewife and make dinner!

New Purchases :)

Mom and I had a great time at the new Jersey Shore Outlets. I was given a budget and was very proud that I came in WAY under :)

My purchases included:

New UGG boots!



Got a great deal on those :) 50% off! Can't wait till next winter wear them - although I could of worn them this morning - it was quite chilly!

I also picked up a couple pairs of capri pants from Anne Taylor Loft, along with a cute pair of slip on sneaker/boat shoes!

I have been looking for a rain/trench coat for the spring time especially since lately we have been having a ton and half of rainstorms (like today!). So we went into every store and finally came upon Banana Republic and found this:



The one I purchased looks very similiar but is black with a white pattern. It was 40% off. I wore it today and love it!

It was a gorgeous weekend, so yesterday (while Adam worked on Theme Park stuff)I took Koda for her first real walk up and down the street. She did great! She can walk really nice on the lease, no pulling except to go sniff stuff. But other than that she walks perfect next to me. Can't wait to start taking her to training in a few months!

Adam leaves Thurs night for Frontier City in Oklahoma City. He is working on Sound/Video Design for several theme parks this year and this weekend he embarkes on his first trip to many parks this summer.

Since he will be out of town, my two bestest friends (Becci and Shelly) are coming up to hang out on Saturday! I am thinking about taking them to the Warwick Drive-in to see Monsters vs. Aliens - I can't wait! The theatre is literally 5 mins from our house and has about 4 screens and is one of the only ones left in New York State!

Other than that, life is good, and can't wait for it to stay warm for more than 2 days....

Week #1 Complete...

Well we made it through a full week with Koda! It's been an interesting one....

So we decided to ask our neighbor to come let her out during the day while Adam and I are at work. She graciously accepted and we couldn't happier knowing (for now...) that she will not make a complete mess everyday!

The lining of the wee-wee pads plus the blanket has been great! That way she doesn't mess up our carpet and I can was the blankets and towels! She has been super good about not messing in the house except if we have her out with us in the living room.... so I make sure to come into her play area a lot during the day to make sure she gets the attention she needs (and deserves!!)

She has also figured out how to jump over the baby gate.... I know that it wasn't the most secure "gate" but it was working and we didn't think anything of it.... then one day I was in the kitchen and all of a sudden POOF! there she was at my feet.... so we came up with plan B...



We went to PetSmart last night and picked up a new gate that swings open and closed.... plus it is higher than the previous one. Adam then proceeded to build a wood contraption (which is actually quite cool) to help support the gate since we are not using it in a doorway quite yet.

Koda and Casey were outside for about an hour today since the weather finally warmed up (40 degrees!!) so she is all tuckered out and will hopefully sleep until it time for dinner!

In other news, work is going well. Finally completed a huge project that I have been working on since Sept '08. All the managers (including mine) will be at an offsite next week, so it'll be a quite one! Which is a good thing, means I can get other things done without being interrupted...

Still have a lot of snow on the ground, it's just been way to cold for it to go away. But then it ices over! So our driveway has been an ice-skating rink for the past week or so, but as I mentioned it got up into the 40's today with a lot of sun, so bye bye ice!!

Nothing else too exciting... so I'm going to go catch up on some TV shows I missed then time for the SuperBowl!! YAY commercials!! I mean...... ;)

New Member of the Family

I'd like you to meet Koda - Adam and I have had her for not even 24 hours and are completely in love with her!!

She is a Chocolate Lab Retriever. Her mom is a chocolate and her dad is a black lab. She has the sweetest of personalities! She weighs 24.5 lbs and is 14 weeks old. Last night was a long one.... we have her "safe room" set-up in my office. This is were she sleeps and eats. Since Casey (our golden) has had the run of the house, we wanted to make sure Koda (new puppy) has a place of her own as well. We decided my office was the best place since that is where I spend most of my time when we are home.

We picked her up yesterday in Thornton, PA at a private breeders house. I found her using the akc.org website. We knew it was going to be a long drive (3+hrs) so we told the breeder we would arrive by 1pm. This gave us time to prep the house for her arrival plus we didn't have to wake up so early to get down there.

We arrived down there at actually 1pm. The breeder currently owns 7...yes that's right 7 labs (she has all 3 types - yellow, chocolate and black). We got to meet Koda's mom (2 yr old Josie) and her dad (4 yr old Nicky). We knew right away that Koda will have a great personality, and be very loving.

On the way home, she was great in the car - just sat in my lap and stared out the window. Her breathing was a little heavy only due to the fact that it was a new situation. We stopped off at PetSmart to pick up a crate, a few toys, and food.

Got her home, settled in. Adam and I had some friends come up to the house last night and we were up pretty late. Which was actually good for Koda. It had a been a stressful day for her to begin so she was extremely tired. Had a few accidents in the house, but she is quickly learning.... kind of... I know house-training doesn't happen over night but I sure wish it did!

Didn't have any problems with her when we went to bed, but at about 3:30am I heard her rustling in her cage, then she barked. So I got up took her outside quickly (along w/Casey) and she peeped and pooped! Was very proud. Came back in put her back in the crate.... she started barking.... a lot.... so after 10 mins of this I went in my office and played with her till about 4:45 and we both crashed on the floor in my office. (her in the crate....) So I shutted the gate and didn't lock it.... which was stupid. 7:00a rolls around and I go to check on her and she had peed. No wonder she didn't need to go out! So lesson learned.....

Today is going well - still some accidents, but she's till young. It'll take time....

Casey is not sure what to do with her but is tolerating her for now.....

I need a nap..... is this what it's like to have a baby too??

Happy New Years!

Well 2009 is here! What happen to last year?!? I can't believe how fast time flies....

Adam and I had a very good christmas this year. Presents included:

- Books
- CDs
- Clothes
- New Moccasins

And our favorite present:
Nintendo Wii

And we got Mario Kart, LEGO Star Wars: The complete Saga, The Simpson's (based on the movie), Celebrity Sports (lame-o, don't buy!)

We started christmas off at home, which was a first for us! It was really nice....then we headed over to Adam's parents and open gifts there, and stayed for dinner. The following day we headed to Eagle Rock to see my parents. My brother and his wife, and his in-laws came up there as well. So that was our third Christmas!!

Eagle Rock Resort has a golf course, spa, and skiing! It also has snow tubing, so us kids and mom's decided to go snow tubing! Granted it wasn't that cold (maybe 40 deg) so we were hoping it wouldn't be too bad.

Here are some highlights!

Here are us kids, all bundled up (thinking it was MUCH colder than it actually was!) heading off to go tubing!!




I gave my camera to my dad so he could take some shots of us going to the "mountain" (which was really a just a hill...)

Katie


Adam


MIchael


Me!


It was fun! Just wished there had been more snow. Very muddy trying to get to the top of the hill! Definitely will have to try again when the conditions are better!


This New Years was a busy one for us. We decided we'd head to Amy's (Adam's sister) to spend NYE with her. Well, since she just moved into her new place, she does not have TV yet. So what better way to bring in the new year then by playing Wii!!! All.Night.Long. It was a lot of fun! Then New years day we headed back up to Eagle Rock to see my parents, and they too do not have TV, so we played more Wii and watched Along Came Polly. Very cute movie!

Then we headed back home. I am exhausted with all the traveling we did! So back to finishing laundry, and cleaning up the house....

Hope everyone has a very happy and healthy 2009!!

Moving

Yea, moving - not at home but at work! We are having a re-stack in the building and they are doing it phases. This week is my floor, so I have to pack everything up by tomorrow, then when I come in on Monday I'll have a new cube!!! A smaller one, but new none-the-less :) I haven't gotten much work done because of all this packing - oh well.

Friday is my 28th Bday...wow has time gone by fast! Not doing anything exciting, Adam is going to jackson to help move some stuff up to Mom and Dad's house in PA. I am not going because my friend Shelly and I are heading out to PA to see Becci graduate with her masters degree!! The drive is 5.5 hours!! One way!! should be fun though :) Then on our way back we are stopping in Eagle Rock to see my parents and see all the new stuff my mom has bought!

I took some pictures of our Christmas tree and other decorations but I am at work, and they are on my home computer, so I will post those later...

Okay, guess I should finish packing up, plus have a meeting at 10:30a....

Bye!