In other news, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the great well wishes regarding Bailey. Unfortunately, we had to give him up because Sasha got really sick. I ended up rushing Sasha to the Vet after about 3 days of non-stop throwing up. Jim and I were so heartbroken to have to give Bailey up...we had him for such a short time, but I tell you what, we fell in love with him very fast. The good news is, Bailey is very happy because he was adopted by another family! Yay! So, it all worked out in the end. :)
Showing posts with label when one door closes a window opens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label when one door closes a window opens. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2009
Hey, Hey, hey!
So I've been slacking a lot lately on the blogging...sorry about that! My head has been buried in between my real estate books studying for the state exam. I took the exam last Thursday and..............I PASSED! Woo hoo!! The test was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. Maybe I was just nervous or what have you but, whatever the case, I passed so yay! I am so excited to start my new career...I am itching to get out there! This week officially starts me moving forward and jumping in head first in real estate. I loved being a project manager so much and I never thought anything else would compare. I still think that is true, but I gotta say that my excitement and passion for success will be able to shine in a new light. :)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Catching Up Part Deux
I'm so bored right now I could just scream. In the last few hours, I have: laid on the couch, watched Made of Honor, read the latest issues of Us Weekly-Ok!-People, maintained my cuticles and drank a bottle of water in hopes of preventing me from stuffing myself silly with the goodies in the pantry. Jim is at a golf tournament and I am waiting for him to get home so that we can go to a friend's house to watch the Rockets win game 3 against the Lakers. Soo, while I'm waiting, I decided to go ahead and update my blog with pictures! Yay for boredom!
Let's just dive on in, shall we?
This is us on the morning we closed on our house! We were finally able to set all the stresses aside to enjoy and get excited on our new adventure. The next pic is a picture of me and my friend, Pam, who was also our realtor.
This is me and Caleb at his school when he won the VIP Award at his school for the last 9 weeks! The school held an assembly and he was given a certificate and a yard sign. What an amazing kid he is! This is also a picture of us on Easter Sunday headed to Church. He looks like such a businessman in his tie...and the funny thing is, he was carrying a briefcase that had his 'laptop' inside. Too cute!
The pic below is a pic of Caleb holding Sasha. Sasha is HUGE! But, she's such a sweet and good dog! This was the 2nd day in our house...we ordered pizza, had some friends, Caleb and my Aunt over. We had a blast and Caleb and my Aunt Coney were soo helpful!
Here's pics of Caleb at his school carnival last week. He stayed with us because my brother in law went out of town and Caleb desparately wanted to go to his carnival. It was a lot of fun...and so.very.hot. My gosh, I forgot how HOT it is here! How cool is the karate picture?! Caleb is actually in karate and is an orange belt. He even said: HAAA-YA! lol.
Okay so here's some awesome pics...our apartment in NYC! I took these pics after the movers had taken everything out. The apartment looked HUGE without anything in it. We happily left a closet system that we weren't going to need anymore and also a sleeper sofa that we had in the office. We slept on the sleeper on our very last night. I can't even begin to tell y'all how sad that night was for me. I was excited to come back to Texas, but was also very sad to leave New York. Even now, I get very sad seeing NYC on tv, in pictures...and looking at our pictures from there. I miss something different every single day. Yesterday it was sample sales. Today it was getting a mani/pedi/chair massage from my fave place on w.72nd st. I could go on and on. I definitely wasn't ready to leave...but, am thankful that I at least had the opportunity to experience it and meet the friends that I did. Our apartment was 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and about 600 square feet - that's being generous by the way. Our rent was roughly a whopping $2k/month. Hard to believe, right?!
This is the entry/way. The front door (you can't see it) is on the right of those hooks. We kept coats on those hooks...and they piled up! The next picture is the living room area. See that pipe? That's where the heat travels to the radiators! When I first moved to New York, I had never seen that before and I had no clue what it was. It makes all sorts of strange sounds in the Winter too. We had our couch on the side where the pipe is and our TV on top of a little entertainment unit on the wall across of it. You literally had a walkway to separate you from the couch to the tv. See those bookshelves? They fell down - twice! Luckily, nobody was hurt. Also, notice there aren't any windows! We lived in what's called a "railroad" apartment. The rooms on each side are like squares and the middle is very narrow.
Another shot of the living room - you can see the office/guest room. And yes folks, that's our kitchen! Look how tiny the stove is...and our fridge? It wasn't a full size fridge! We had decent cabinet space, but that's only because we really didn't have many pots and pans to cook with. Now y'all know why our registry list for pots/pans and dishes weren't long! Lol. You can also see our bedroom from this picture. Oh and see the framework for the door on the right in the picture of the kitchen? That's the bathroom door!
Here's our bathroom! Notice that when you open the door it's an automatic, hello mr. toilet! That's our shower to the left. If you've ever been on a cruise, it's very similar. You basically just have enough space to turn around. And last but not least, our sink and mirror.
Our bedroom! This is the view right at the door. Now remember, the bathroom door was about a foot away from me to my right - at most! That's one of two windows in the room (the other window is on the same wall, just a little bit further down). See that box on the window? That's a window unit! Not many places have central A/C, so we lived through Summers with a window unit. It's funny because having one made me appreciate central a/c...and not everyone in NY has window units...some don't have anything and survive just fine.
The picture also shows our closet systems - this was one of the best Ikea purchases ever! We never would have made it with just two itty bitty closets. These were a HUGE help. The empty space in the middle was where our dresser went. We took that with us because, well, for one, it's a Pottery Barn dresser and two, it was one of the things we bought from the many PB gift cards we got for our wedding.
I'm standing in the space where our bed was and yes, you are staring at my closet. I know you're wondering how I fit everything in there, but when you're cramped for space, you really have to make do. We kept bins under our bed full of Winter clothes when it was Summer and vice versa. My closet was packed from top to bottom...That rod collapsed once and I broke the door twice! I am showing the pic of my closet empty and the other pic shows it full so you can see just how small it was. We were waiting for the movers to come, so I hadn't touched a single thing in my closet. Also, this room had its own entryway from the hallway of the apartment building. You could actually rent out this room to someone and have them come in directly to their own room without going through the living room.
The pics below are pics of the office/guest room. It's about the same size and layout as our bedroom, but faces the back of the street. Our bedroom faced the front of the street. See the radiator? That's the lovely thing that gives you heat during the cold Winters! We also had a desk and another bookcase in this room. The desk was tucked in the corner below the 2nd window. We came home one day and that corner was drenched with water! It was raining and there was a leak in the window. Luckily, our laptops didn't get wet. The next pic shows Jim's closet. His was just as full as mine!
Last but not least, here's a pic of us standing in our kitchen before we went to eat on our last night as New York City residents. Can you tell I've been crying? Can you tell Jim is stressed out?
We truly were so sad to leave, but excited to start a new chapter. I can't say enough what that city did for me and what it did for me and Jim...and what it did to us. With no family and no friends (in the beginning), we truly had each other. We were a team - we cried together, laughed together and learned together. Living in such tight quarters really tests you, your patience and your relationship. Yes, I've slammed those doors as hard as I could during one of our arguments. And yes we've both yelled at each other with all the anger our lungs could hold from one side of the apartment to the next. And yes, I actually threw a remote control from our bedroom to the other bedroom too. And privacy? What's that? Definitely not something you have in such a small apartment, that's for sure. Good and bad, this was home. We made it home and it felt like home. We loved coming home to it every day, we loved relaxing there during the weekends and truly embraced it. This experience is something we will never forget - and that's putting it lightly. I am certain we will be telling stories for a very long time.
Let's just dive on in, shall we?
This is us on the morning we closed on our house! We were finally able to set all the stresses aside to enjoy and get excited on our new adventure. The next pic is a picture of me and my friend, Pam, who was also our realtor.
This is me and Caleb at his school when he won the VIP Award at his school for the last 9 weeks! The school held an assembly and he was given a certificate and a yard sign. What an amazing kid he is! This is also a picture of us on Easter Sunday headed to Church. He looks like such a businessman in his tie...and the funny thing is, he was carrying a briefcase that had his 'laptop' inside. Too cute!
The pic below is a pic of Caleb holding Sasha. Sasha is HUGE! But, she's such a sweet and good dog! This was the 2nd day in our house...we ordered pizza, had some friends, Caleb and my Aunt over. We had a blast and Caleb and my Aunt Coney were soo helpful!
Here's pics of Caleb at his school carnival last week. He stayed with us because my brother in law went out of town and Caleb desparately wanted to go to his carnival. It was a lot of fun...and so.very.hot. My gosh, I forgot how HOT it is here! How cool is the karate picture?! Caleb is actually in karate and is an orange belt. He even said: HAAA-YA! lol.
Okay so here's some awesome pics...our apartment in NYC! I took these pics after the movers had taken everything out. The apartment looked HUGE without anything in it. We happily left a closet system that we weren't going to need anymore and also a sleeper sofa that we had in the office. We slept on the sleeper on our very last night. I can't even begin to tell y'all how sad that night was for me. I was excited to come back to Texas, but was also very sad to leave New York. Even now, I get very sad seeing NYC on tv, in pictures...and looking at our pictures from there. I miss something different every single day. Yesterday it was sample sales. Today it was getting a mani/pedi/chair massage from my fave place on w.72nd st. I could go on and on. I definitely wasn't ready to leave...but, am thankful that I at least had the opportunity to experience it and meet the friends that I did. Our apartment was 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and about 600 square feet - that's being generous by the way. Our rent was roughly a whopping $2k/month. Hard to believe, right?!
This is the entry/way. The front door (you can't see it) is on the right of those hooks. We kept coats on those hooks...and they piled up! The next picture is the living room area. See that pipe? That's where the heat travels to the radiators! When I first moved to New York, I had never seen that before and I had no clue what it was. It makes all sorts of strange sounds in the Winter too. We had our couch on the side where the pipe is and our TV on top of a little entertainment unit on the wall across of it. You literally had a walkway to separate you from the couch to the tv. See those bookshelves? They fell down - twice! Luckily, nobody was hurt. Also, notice there aren't any windows! We lived in what's called a "railroad" apartment. The rooms on each side are like squares and the middle is very narrow.
Another shot of the living room - you can see the office/guest room. And yes folks, that's our kitchen! Look how tiny the stove is...and our fridge? It wasn't a full size fridge! We had decent cabinet space, but that's only because we really didn't have many pots and pans to cook with. Now y'all know why our registry list for pots/pans and dishes weren't long! Lol. You can also see our bedroom from this picture. Oh and see the framework for the door on the right in the picture of the kitchen? That's the bathroom door!
Here's our bathroom! Notice that when you open the door it's an automatic, hello mr. toilet! That's our shower to the left. If you've ever been on a cruise, it's very similar. You basically just have enough space to turn around. And last but not least, our sink and mirror.
Our bedroom! This is the view right at the door. Now remember, the bathroom door was about a foot away from me to my right - at most! That's one of two windows in the room (the other window is on the same wall, just a little bit further down). See that box on the window? That's a window unit! Not many places have central A/C, so we lived through Summers with a window unit. It's funny because having one made me appreciate central a/c...and not everyone in NY has window units...some don't have anything and survive just fine.
The picture also shows our closet systems - this was one of the best Ikea purchases ever! We never would have made it with just two itty bitty closets. These were a HUGE help. The empty space in the middle was where our dresser went. We took that with us because, well, for one, it's a Pottery Barn dresser and two, it was one of the things we bought from the many PB gift cards we got for our wedding.
I'm standing in the space where our bed was and yes, you are staring at my closet. I know you're wondering how I fit everything in there, but when you're cramped for space, you really have to make do. We kept bins under our bed full of Winter clothes when it was Summer and vice versa. My closet was packed from top to bottom...That rod collapsed once and I broke the door twice! I am showing the pic of my closet empty and the other pic shows it full so you can see just how small it was. We were waiting for the movers to come, so I hadn't touched a single thing in my closet. Also, this room had its own entryway from the hallway of the apartment building. You could actually rent out this room to someone and have them come in directly to their own room without going through the living room.
The pics below are pics of the office/guest room. It's about the same size and layout as our bedroom, but faces the back of the street. Our bedroom faced the front of the street. See the radiator? That's the lovely thing that gives you heat during the cold Winters! We also had a desk and another bookcase in this room. The desk was tucked in the corner below the 2nd window. We came home one day and that corner was drenched with water! It was raining and there was a leak in the window. Luckily, our laptops didn't get wet. The next pic shows Jim's closet. His was just as full as mine!
Last but not least, here's a pic of us standing in our kitchen before we went to eat on our last night as New York City residents. Can you tell I've been crying? Can you tell Jim is stressed out?
We truly were so sad to leave, but excited to start a new chapter. I can't say enough what that city did for me and what it did for me and Jim...and what it did to us. With no family and no friends (in the beginning), we truly had each other. We were a team - we cried together, laughed together and learned together. Living in such tight quarters really tests you, your patience and your relationship. Yes, I've slammed those doors as hard as I could during one of our arguments. And yes we've both yelled at each other with all the anger our lungs could hold from one side of the apartment to the next. And yes, I actually threw a remote control from our bedroom to the other bedroom too. And privacy? What's that? Definitely not something you have in such a small apartment, that's for sure. Good and bad, this was home. We made it home and it felt like home. We loved coming home to it every day, we loved relaxing there during the weekends and truly embraced it. This experience is something we will never forget - and that's putting it lightly. I am certain we will be telling stories for a very long time.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My New Job
9. Downtown Manhattan is awe-some!! I thought Midtown Manhattan was great, but no way Jose (ha ha Dad hope you're reading this). My boss took me and another project manager out to lunch today and we sat outside and enjoyed the great weather. I am feeling a little lost downtown because there are all these random streets, unlike the grid that I'm used to, but there are so many great places to eat and fountains to sit at. Everyone was so welcoming, introducing themselves, making small talk and eager to say 'welcome aboard!' That was a very good feeling. :-)
8. My new boss is an exact and I mean exact mix of my previous two directors. I immediately got a sense of her management style and she definitely won me over in the first five minutes. She has been a project manager at Pfizer and could completely relate to other management styles, similar to the one's I've had. Ahhh so refreshing.
7. Because no matter how hard and stressful my previous experience as a project manager was, it prepared me for really grasping the responsibilities of this new experience...quickly. I thought I would feel overwhelmed today, but I didn't at all! I felt good and believe it or not, I think I'm getting my first projects - yes there's an "s" at the end of that - tomorrow! Bring it on!
6. "So, just to let you know, you just have to be here between 9-9:30 in the morning. Everyone usually starts strolling in a little before 9:30. Somewhere in that half hour is a good grace period." REALLY?!? It's like that?!?
5. They don't waste paper! (lol) All the redundancy of printing every single thing is not necessary - they encourage the use of advanced technology...they are a technology company afterall.
4. One of the IT guys sits in front of me. First things first - make nice with the IT guy and he'll always be there to help.
3. They encourage you to use MSN Messenger as a form of communication (so now I'm on MSN and Google Chat) - and they encourage you to use social networking sites, etc. to stay up to date on the tech trends. REALLY? It's like that?!?
2. They pay for your medical, dental and vision benefits. Meaning, they pay...not me. No copay or monthly deduction out of my pocket! I've never heard of such a thing!! *Gotta love the European's for taking care of their employees!
1. And the #1 reason why I love my new job? Four weeks of vacation per year. Wait, did you say four weeks? I just want to make sure I heard that correctly. And this doesn't count sick/personal/holidays?!? O.M.G. One last time folks - REALLY? It's like that?!? (please refer to the * in reason #2).
Knock on wood geez!!!
Friday, June 27, 2008
New j-o-b
Well....It's official. I loooove project management!! I took an offer that I couldn't refuse with a technology company in downtown Manhattan (near the WTC and Wall St.) as a Project Manager (3 years and counting!). I am very excited to start and dig my hands in the Technology/Media industry. This is what project management is all about!! The company is amazing which obviously is the cherry on the sundae. Do I love the stresses and deadlines and the demands of project management? AB.SO.LUTE.LY.
Friday, March 21, 2008
out with the old...IN WITH THE NEW
They say you should never...
look back. And no matter how tempted I was yesterday, I didn't! And you know what? It felt GREAT! Yesterday was my last day at the j-o-b and while I was sad to be leaving the wonderful friends I made, it felt really great to move on. I said that my friendships were not measured by that job or even that company...that was not the glue that held us together. What held us together was the laughter, good times, and inside jokes...the friends I made are real friends. We've laughed, cried andlaughed some more. There are so many things I won't forget...and many more that will be impossible to forget: like the time when JB told me KC looked a little thirsty today; or the time when LP had to wear my pants all day; even all those times I dropped the phone when EF was calling...along with my ADD when she would try to talk to me; and the time KC sent the bad email not to me, but to the last person it should've gone to; and even those many many days I would pass CC and say Ceeeeeeeeece!; the morning "do you want tea or coffee" orders, correcting me when I would say words too Texanish, the Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee Runs, trying to get away with wearing flip flops all day...ah there are so many of these memories that will forever be imprinted in my mind...and heart of course. I will miss y'all...but I know we will talk and see each other soon! (LOL in 1 week as a matter of fact because it's KC's wedding!)
Speaking about out with the old, in with the new - I left my blackberry in a cab yesterday morning! So idiotic of me, I know...but at least I had phone insurance and was able to get a new one by paying my deductible, which wasn't that bad. The only icky thing is that I lost all my numbers...BOO! I can't wait to get my hands on my new berry...I'm going through withdrawals for sure!
I heart you - please hurry and get to me!
....And speaking of new phones - Hubby just got rid of the horrendous Nextel that he has been carrying around for work for years! We were both thrilled about this! His new phone came in yesterday and we were both so glad we will never have to hear that 'beep beep' again. That 'beep beep' drove us INSANE for a very long time!
In other news - SPRING IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!! Ummm...then why did the weatherman say it was supposed to snow tomorrow? I refuse to believe it! My flip flops are itching to come out and play. Maybe if I start wearing them now I can convince the weather to actually warm up?
Alright, well I'm gonna take a little nap...I woke up on time today thinking I had some place to be and....I don't! Ha ha.
ps - Sasha is growing like a weed!! She is so adorable and we just love her to pieces. She looks like a little baby fluffy cloud! :-)
XOXO! MUAH!
look back. And no matter how tempted I was yesterday, I didn't! And you know what? It felt GREAT! Yesterday was my last day at the j-o-b and while I was sad to be leaving the wonderful friends I made, it felt really great to move on. I said that my friendships were not measured by that job or even that company...that was not the glue that held us together. What held us together was the laughter, good times, and inside jokes...the friends I made are real friends. We've laughed, cried andlaughed some more. There are so many things I won't forget...and many more that will be impossible to forget: like the time when JB told me KC looked a little thirsty today; or the time when LP had to wear my pants all day; even all those times I dropped the phone when EF was calling...along with my ADD when she would try to talk to me; and the time KC sent the bad email not to me, but to the last person it should've gone to; and even those many many days I would pass CC and say Ceeeeeeeeece!; the morning "do you want tea or coffee" orders, correcting me when I would say words too Texanish, the Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee Runs, trying to get away with wearing flip flops all day...ah there are so many of these memories that will forever be imprinted in my mind...and heart of course. I will miss y'all...but I know we will talk and see each other soon! (LOL in 1 week as a matter of fact because it's KC's wedding!)
Speaking about out with the old, in with the new - I left my blackberry in a cab yesterday morning! So idiotic of me, I know...but at least I had phone insurance and was able to get a new one by paying my deductible, which wasn't that bad. The only icky thing is that I lost all my numbers...BOO! I can't wait to get my hands on my new berry...I'm going through withdrawals for sure!
I heart you - please hurry and get to me!
....And speaking of new phones - Hubby just got rid of the horrendous Nextel that he has been carrying around for work for years! We were both thrilled about this! His new phone came in yesterday and we were both so glad we will never have to hear that 'beep beep' again. That 'beep beep' drove us INSANE for a very long time!
In other news - SPRING IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!! Ummm...then why did the weatherman say it was supposed to snow tomorrow? I refuse to believe it! My flip flops are itching to come out and play. Maybe if I start wearing them now I can convince the weather to actually warm up?
Alright, well I'm gonna take a little nap...I woke up on time today thinking I had some place to be and....I don't! Ha ha.
ps - Sasha is growing like a weed!! She is so adorable and we just love her to pieces. She looks like a little baby fluffy cloud! :-)
XOXO! MUAH!