Dear Diary

Today was the first day at my new job and I think I'm really going to like it…

On our first day, we sat with experienced Quoting Specialists during the morning so we could observe how they perform their job. Then due to off site manager meetings, our new Manager's opted to have us work a partial day. Since they are paying us for a full day and I didn’t sleep at all last night (I guess I was keyed up) it worked out well for me so that I could go home and take a nap.

We will be working 7 hour days for the remainder of this week and all of next week while we are going through training. We were all warned that tomorrow through Thursday the training will be jammed packed and our brains will be thoroughly expanded. They are providing us lunch over these 3 days which is really nice of them.

The Quoting Specialist that I sat with this morning has worked at this company for 5 months. She told me that this group is really nice to work with and she is very happy at this job. Considering how much import they placed on finding the right person for this team was in all 3 interviews, I truly felt that the atmosphere would not be something to worry about. Having said that, I guess I was still worrying a bit so I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear this first hand from someone else in my position.

So, even though I only worked a partial day on my first day, I can already tell that there is so much to learn and that there will be challenges which they forewarned me about. Boredom will not be part of my daily routine whatsoever and that is terrific.

It is refreshing to be on this side of a job where people love working for their employer and the employer treats their people well. It’s a wonderful place to find myself at this next stage of my work life.

Martha Stewart Dutch Oven

I have to show off my latest kitchen purchase. It’s a Martha Stewart 5.5 quart enamel cast iron round casserole. I would say that it’s more like a Dutch oven, but who am I to argue with the Queen herself.

The other day at Macy’s, I was on my way to the down escalator when I came face to face with a 50% sale on these babies. That is a mega deal because they are really expensive cookware. I have wanted one of these probably ever since I began watching Martha Stewart years ago. I could never justify the expense because as most of you know, I don’t spend a lot of time cooking. But with 50% off, I figured I could go ahead and get what I wanted. Now I can cook my roasts in a pan with a lid that fits.

Pictured here is a roast with onion and bell peppers slow cooking over low heat for approximately 3 - 4 hours. The recipe: Season any boneless roast (not prime rib) with pepper and Mrs. Dash. Add chopped bell peppers (1 green and 2 red), a chopped white onion, add enough water to reach the top of the roast and cook over low heat. Check periodically to be sure the roast does not dry out. Typically, after a few hours, the water will begin to cook off fast, add more water as needed to keep from drying out. I usually add 1 cup and let that cook down, adding more as necessary until the meat, onion and pepper mix begins to caramelize on the bottom. The meat should also be shredding fairly well. Serve with potatoes and salad or your favorite sides.

Simple and bursting with flavor.

Shoe crazed

Look at my fun new summer work shoes.

Aren't they cute?

I hit a fantastic sale at Macy's this weekend. Every pair of these shoes was on sale and if I bought 3 or more pairs, I got an additional 30% off. Yippie!!

Good thing I shaved this morning.

Okay, this last pair are just for fun, not for work.  I will have 'blingy' feet when I do my grocery shopping.

Yeah, I know, if you click on this picture, you can see some dust on the shoe.  That's cause I wore these out of the store and then to do some other shopping.  What can I say, they were so much fun to wear.

Happy days are here again...

...The skies above are clear again. So let's sing a song of cheer again. Happy days are here again!!!

“Praise be, praise be”, I got a job. I am thrilled, ecstatic, elated, jumping up and down, uh….howling at the sun, uh….just really, really, really happy!!! Oh and Chicago won the Stanley Cup!!

I have some stuff I need to do for this job in the morning and I will be starting next week. After I’m done, I think I will have a little celebratory shopping trip over to Chandler Mall so I have more than 3 professional outfits to wear to work.

There is something else that I would like to share about this job because it is amazing to me how things work out. The employers were stressing to me, throughout several interviews, how important it is to them that they hire someone who wants to be part of their team, who contributes to the team and who can think of them as family. It dawned on me that these are the characteristics of what I wanted in a job that I put out into the universe over and over again well before my last job ended. Pushing aside my reasons, this was a really big deal to me for probably the last 2 years. So now it appears that I am getting what I wanted. I am hopeful that I found my place, my work home, my positive and nurturing environment.

Have you put something out into the universe lately? If not, here is your opportunity to share what you want; as a job, in life, in relationships, etc.

Breakin from Bloggin

Just wanting to let all my blog readers and fellow bloggers know that I am really concentrating on finding gainful employment so my posts are likely to be sporadic at best.  I wish I had more time in a day to blog about stuff but then I think if I did, it would likely be filled with too much negative chatter and let's face it, that would be in conflict with the sunnier happier side of myself that I share on my blog.  However, I will sum it up as a painfully slow process. 

Since I am devoting my full time and attention to job searching, I decided that I should have a new job title, Unemployed Job Searcher.  Whatcha think??  What other title can you think of?

Oh and just so you know where I'll be, hunting during the week and in the pool on the weekends. 

May this summer bless us with finding jobs, wonderful opportunities and many other good things!!!

Toodles!

The Ah! Factor

Ah!!! 

Relaxing just doesn't get any better than spending a hot day in the water sipping on a slushy Margarita.  Add some music and a magazine and you have the Ah! Factor.

Playing with the Macro Setting

Last week while exploring the Gilbert Riparian Park with my friend Cathy, she showed me how to use the Macro setting on my camera for better close ups.  This morning I was inspired to play around with this setting by taking a couple of pictures of the new plants in my garden that are in bloom. 

Here are a few other shots of new plants that were not using the Macro setting.

Hopefully these plants will last throughout most of the summer, bringing cheer with their sunny faces.