Toddler in Tow

I'm working on a post devoted to traveling with a small person. Given how many hours I researched on my own before our first trips, I think it is only fair to share my own experiences!

Final Numbers on SNAP Challenge

I'll be posting my update and thoughts soon. Wednesday - Sunday were a bit of a whirlwind for me, so I didn't have a chance to post.

At the end of the week, it kind of fell apart due to my boss picking up lunch and a last minute invitation to hang out with some friends. So the chicken that we'd planned to have for dinner on Friday ended up getting nice and dried out by the time we'd gotten home. In an effort to not be wasteful, we will be shredding that and using it for burrito/taco night.

All of that said, using my super scientific calculations, I managed to stay under budget and kept my family fed for each meal that we ate. Approximate spent $58.60. Total meals = 40 x 1.58 = $63.20.

Were they all healthy? No. Were they all quick and easy? No.

Here is my final list... I'll be posting a modified recipe for this Baked Polenta and Pepper Sauce. It's budget friendly and quite tasty.

Food	Final/Adjusted Price	Price
Pasta (Spaghetti)	$0.88	$0.88
Peanut Butter	$2.74	$5.48	*10.96 at BJs for two GIANT jars
Jelly	$0.49	$0.97
Frozen Broccoli	$0.00
Pasta Sauce	$1.50
Rice (2 lbs)	$0.75	$1.49
Black beans	$1.79
4 progresso soups	$1.50	$6.00
Bananas	$2.49
Whole fryers (2)	$0.00	$10.90
Cornmeal	$0.35	$1.38
Ground turkey	$5.92
Sausage	$2.99
Honey nut Os	$0.84	$1.68
Mozzarella	$4.93
Cheddar	$2.47
English muffins	$2.00
Oatmeal	$0.82	$1.64
Whole wheat bread	$2.68
bell pepper (2)	$2.68
Gevalia Coffee	$3.85	$5.84
Coffee Creamer	$1.25	$2.49
Peas (frozen)	$0.00	$0.98
Fresh strawberries	$2.28
Plain yogurt	$5.48
Canned crushed tomatoes	$1.50
onions (bag)	$0.49	$1.97
Lettuce	$0.55	$0.99
Milk	$3.50
Sour cream	$0.84	$1.68
Eggs	$0.00	$2.49
Ramen - case of 24 for $8.28	$0.35	$8.28
Tomatoes w/ Chilies	$0.69
	$58.60
	Me	Jay	Mark
Sunday	2	1	2
Monday	3	2	2
Tuesday	3	2	2
Wednesday	3	0	2
Thursday	3	2	2
Friday	1	1	1
Saturday	2	2	2
	17	10	13
	$1.58	$1.58	$1.58
	$26.86	$15.80	$20.54	$63.20

Winter and Being Sick Sucks

But I’m going to do my best to overcome it and do something positive.

I’ve been stuck in a funk because I’ve been sick. A lot.

I’ve always considered myself to be a pretty healthy person. I got maybe two or three minor colds a year… the occasional stomach virus. The usual. No big deal. I get migraines, but those are knocked out by injectable Imitrex quickly.

I don’t know if it’s because my kid now shares all of his germs from daycare or what, but this winter has been brutal. I got sick two weeks before leaving for Key West in late November/early December. Then I got sick again a few days before leaving for Key West. On the plane, I thought my head was going to explode, and I couldn’t hear for two days after we arrived.

Then I came down with the flu on January 2^nd. It was like I got hit by a bus. I’m one of those people who rarely miss work due to illness… it’s something I pride myself on. Well, I missed nearly an entire week. I tried working from home and got a few hours in here and there. What I should have done was not attempt to do anything and just slept to get better. Three weeks later I wasn’t feeling much better, so I went back to the doctor. I ended up with a steroid injection in the ass, a breathing treatment, and a hefty dose of antibiotics. That finally seemed to knock the remnants of that crud out.

At the beginning of February, I ended up with either food poisoning or a stomach virus. Another day of work missed. Things weren’t right with my digestive tract for probably a week. It was not fun. Then we went to Arizona and I seemed to have recovered from everything! Then I came home. Last weekend I got to hang out with a bunch of girlfriends for our annual Galentines Day celebration. This time, at Turnbridge Point. The company and food was spectacular. And then I started getting stuffy and sore throaty again. Markface was also congested, so I am thinking that he was the vector of my illness yet again.

Last week before I started feeling craptacular again, my acupuncturist  mentioned that she was participating in the Food Stamp Challenge for Talbot County.

My plan is/was to give it a go. I was trying to get Jay on board with doing it too, but he said that he knew too many people that take advantage of the system. Including of course, members of his family (although to my knowledge this is no longer the case). I may have reported aforementioned person to the fraud office when they posted on Facebook that they could get people half price food. ;-)

Fraud notwithstanding, I can’t imagine having to feed my family for $33 per person per week. So my plan is to do it for as many meals as possible. The challenge starts this Sunday, on March 6^th.

I’m still trying to come up with my budget for the week, as ours will be a bit convoluted since Jay is gone 2 days of the challenge and will mostly just be eating my challenge dinners, since he doesn’t want to participate.

Fingers crossed that I will find the time and energy to blog about my experience. If I can finally stop being sick, I'm sure that will help a lot!

Week in Arizona

The pictures just don't do the Grand Canyon justice.

I'm planning to post more about my trip. Maybe. Okay, probably not.

But it was amazing. My SIL Colleen planned an awesome itinerary for us and we had a blast. Also, traveling with a toddler nearly 1.5 is not for the faint of heart. I'm glad that we don't have any other major trips planned with him for the next few months or possibly year, because he is a bit dangerous at the moment. 

Still alive... barely!

So the new job, new puppy and studying have been taking a toll on me. There are also some other things going on, health and family-wise. So add all of those things together and the blogging just hasn't been happening.

One day each week I have a 12+ hour day where I go for work and training in another office. So there is the high intensity of my new position, an average of two hours a night studying for my Series 7, the puppy and trying to eat dinner. And family drama. And trying to still have some time for my husband. Oh, and a lot of insomnia. By the weekends, I am completely drained. Eventually I will attain the knowledge I need, but there are a shit-ton more products than I'm used to - even though I am experienced in the field, it is way more intense than my old positions. Part of me is wondering what the hell I was thinking, but on the other hand, I am being challenged and I know I'll never get bored. There will always be something new to learn!

This has been my mantra recently.

All of that said, the last month has more or less sucked, to be honest. The weather has also not been helping much... all I want to do is hibernate. Between the weather and being tired from the studying/job/puppy/insomnia, I've been anti-social. Going out or seeing people is the last thing I feel like doing right now... if I have any "free" time, I'm spending it napping (with the puppy, that's more attempting to nap) or hanging out with Jay.

And this. I must be mindful of this. I'm feeling very unbalanced in my life right now. I've never tried meditation, so I think I'll be giving it a try. Perhaps it is what I need! Here's hoping for a more upbeat post next time.

Photo Dump

It's been a while since I blogged any photos from my DSLR. Then again, I haven't been taking that many photos.

Tonight I had planned on packing for the DR trip, but I seem to have misplaced my metallic wedges and dive log, so that has me in a funk. First world problems, I know.

So I decided to take a break from my frantic searching and dump some photos from the last few months.

Enjoy.

This year's tree

Open Water Class. We got to help set up all of that equipment when we took Advanced Open Water.

The four people closest to the camera were in our Open Water class at AACC

 Can you tell that Sean is a cop?

 

 Sean visited during Punkin Chunkin... he and Jay spent most of the weekend shooting each other with Nerf guns.

I'm still finding darts all over the house

Funfetti cupcake for Jay's birthday

Make a wish

This is Monkey, the resident dog at Lake Rawlings... he has quite the reputation there. He has stolen everything from fins to Subway sandwiches. He's so freaking cute though, how could you be mad?

Monkey waiting for Jay to abandon our bag of Dunkin Donuts. This was the morning of our Advanced Open Water Class. Definitely the coldest weather I've ever camped in. 28. Brr.

Above the water, a beautiful lake. Below the water, fun things to see.

We finally got the fly right on our tent

Our collective Advanced Open Water Class gear. We didn't want to get it mixed up with the Open Water student's stuff. Well, that and it's OUR gear. I don't want them putting their grubby fingers on my shiny new Aqualung Pearl BCD.

Our dive computers the morning of our second day of diving, warning us of the dangers of DCS. Diving is very safe, as long as you practice your skills and stay within your level of experience. Plan your dive and dive your plan.

We are still loving Fanny the Forester. She is much nicer off road and on dirt roads than Sweet Roxie.

I love Christmas lights

 

And good news... while I was waiting for my photos to upload, I found the shoes that I was looking for and Jay told me that my log book is in his truck.

 

I think it's time for bed! Tomorrow is another day.

My Work Day, by the Numbers

Number of minutes late...

Departing my house: 11 (0641)

Arriving at the hospital for 0730 meeting: -11 (0719 arrival)

Starting the staff meeting: 6

Traffic...

School buses and other vehicles driving 5 mph under the speed limit: 3

Yellow lights sped through: 2

Gracefulness...

Panera bags and boxes to carry for breakfast meeting: 5

Panera handles that ripped off and sent breakfast items tumbling onto parking lot: 1

Times dropping my personal laptop onto the pavement: 1

Laptop cords tripped over: 3

Coffee spills down the front of my sweater: 2

Stains removed from sweater using soap & water: 0

Head-Desk...

Corrections to meeting minutes (by one incredibly picky manager): 8

Go-To-Meeting problems: at least 10

Times that I had to mute a director who was causing an echo: 6

Minutes meeting took: 107 

Winning...

People given OJ and coffee from my cart who I met passing in the halls: 7

Working Hours left until my 4 day weekend: 6

Days until vacation: 10  

Just keep swimming running. Another 5k Friday. And a date to see Catching Fire tomorrow. And my third year of attending an awesome Thanksgiving celebration with friends who are family to me. Unfortunately Jay has to work, so we'll be having second Thanksgiving with my mother on Saturday. Hopefully there will also be some time to pack this weekend.

Happy Friday

Not much new to post about. 

We're still waiting on news about our puppy. We thought that we would be taking him home by now, or in a few weeks. However, it's looking like we won't be taking him home until April, as none of the summer breedings happened. I suppose that might be better for housebreaking. After all, who wants to take the pup outside when it's cold out? Brrr! Anyway, the breeder is evaluating some other stud dogs and will be trying a new stud when one of the females come in to heat.

I'm starting to get a little excited about our trip. Not so much for the trip itself, but for the diving. I can't wait to get some more dives under my belt. We may go to FL with our dive shop in January, if the dates work out. We might also just go down to FL without them if the dates don't work. We can use our travel rewards points for flights and hotel. We could spend money on diving instead of the travel. I've discovered that the points are better used by transferring them to a partner, like Southwest and Marriott. A 4 day trip to Florida might use 80,000 points if we book through the Ultimate Rewards site, but if we transfer them to Marriott and Southwest, the same trip will cost 50,000 points.

So I'm already thinking about taking the Rescue Diver course in a few months. Hopefully I will have already passed my Series 7 with flying colors so that I'll be able to concentrate on my rescue course. Jay is joking that I'll be a Divemaster by the end of next summer. Hey, if they can get us a discount on the training for both of us at once, we might pursue it. 

Tonight we're meeting up with one of the couples that we'll be going to the DR with. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to drag myself out of bed for the Turkey Trot. 

After Jay and I were both forced to get on the scale last week, we are trying to eat a little better and exercise more. I'm trying to cut back on carbs again, but not go totally Atkins. Mostly just less processed food and more exercise. 

I know not to rely on the scale too much though, as I'm back at my heaviest again. However, I don't think that I look like this again:

 

My body is more muscular. Especially my legs (but oddly my cellulite is now more apparent). I'm not saying that I couldn't stand to lose 20 pounds or that I'm comfortable wearing a bathing suit. I just know that I'm healthier than I was at this time last year, and that's good enough for me.

Will have to post some more recent photos. There will be plenty of those in a few weeks after we return from the DR. I will probably resemble a lobster, like my last trip:

Maybe this time I'll drink less Presidente and more vodka & soda. Or perhaps champagne. 

I'll let you know what I decide. 

First World Problems

Remember when I was feeling out of sorts a few months back?

I'm feeling a little stressed at the moment. But in a good way. Today I met with the person about the job opportunity I mentioned in the aforementioned post. I didn't think that the person was going to be able to provide me with a reasonable offer. So I wasn't worried about our meeting today. In fact, I was completely unprepared for our meeting.

As a matter of fact, this week I told Jay that I felt a little bit guilty for wasting the person's time. After all, there's no way that he could possibly compete with my awesome benefits at my current job.

When we were setting up our meeting, my possible future boss said he was going to make me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

And then he did. Or he at least has given me a LOT to think about.

I have a few weeks to give him an answer. He wants me to start January 1st. It's bad timing, as my  vacation is scheduled during the second week in December. I'm also considering taking a week off between jobs. And then there is the annual Christmas bonus, which I doubt that I'll get if I'm leaving. 

I don't want to leave my present employer in a bind. And I really love my new boss, our Regional Medical Director. I also really like the directors and the people that I've made friends with here. I'm finally starting to fit in, I think.

But then there's no chance for advancement here. Unless I wanted to go work in the Baltimore offices. 

Am I happy plugging along in a fairly simple job, where I have to deal with jerks fairly frequently (just had someone today whining about their schedule)? I make a good wage and have excellent benefits, except for vacation. Or do I take an opportunity where in just a few years, I may be working in a managerial capacity. Definitely more skill involved with this position, and I'll have to get my Series 7 license pretty much right away. But I'll also get an extra week and a half off. And a slightly shorter commute.

My possible-future-boss did tell me that I was free to call my position whatever I wanted. So that's kind of fun. He said that as long as I get Registered Assistant next to my name ASAP, he doesn't care what I call my position. 

With this offer, I've felt a bit like my friend Kelly who has joked about having a four leaf clover shoved up her ass. When so many people are unemployed or underemployed, I find it a little overwhelming that someone has sought me out for this opportunity. The whole process has been more like a reverse interview.

So if I go through with all of this, it means that I'll probably end up scrapping that Social Work degree and going for my Business Administration degree. 

First world problems, I know.