Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Learning, Learning, Learning


Well, I have made it through my first few days with Bemis and there is A LOT to learn. I will be training with the lady that I am replacing until the 5th of January. I am spending the majority of my day watching and taking notes, but I am usually being shadowed in the afternoons. I haven't screwed anything up yet, so I am doing pretty good! Everyone seems to be really nice and most of them have been with the company for over 10 years. The majority of the staff is from Murfreesboro because the company moved to the 'Ville from the 'Boro a few years ago. They are all very envious of the fact that I can go home on my lunch, some have even asked to join me. I have my first lunch date with Amanda tomorrow. (I am very excited to get to send more time with friends that I have not gotten to see in a while because of my old work schedule.)


Laney and Lilley are loving every minute of it. Lilley is still spending her days in the giant cage because she turns into a WILD CHILD when we are gone. She really enjoys getting to go outside in the middle of the day and stretch her legs. We are going to have to get Ms. Laney back to the vet, yet again, because she is breaking out everywhere. Dr. Wilhelm had hoped that we would not have to start her on allergy shots at her age, but it looks like that my be our on hope of ensuring Laney has a comfortable and enjoyable day. You know me, I will do whatever it takes to make sure my babies are happy.

We made it through the Thanksgiving Holiday and Shopping Spree! Stuffed and broke but other than that I cannot complain. Here are a few pictures of Brian and I at Thanksgiving.

Compliments of Eric "Paparrazzi" Pasalakis
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Thanksgiving was not the same this year without my Granny, but I know Christmas will be 100 times harder for me. I just Thank God that I was given last year with her. My sister and I hosted the Dirty Santa at The Barton Christmas gathering at the Wheel Community Center last Christmas Eve and there was a Santa face door hanger that EVERYONE wanted. Well my Granny ended up with it and being the wonderful Granny that she always will be she made sure that I left with it. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to see that Santa when I opened the many totes I have filled with Christmas decorations. I swear to you I will never cherish anything like I cherish it. I found that I had a river of tears that would not stop as I lifted it from the tote. I do not believe that I will ever have a day that I do not think of her and miss her. I am so fortunate to have been given the time I was given with her. She could have been here for a million years and I can assure you that to me, I would not have been satisfied because that would not have been nearly enough time with her either. I will cherish her memory the rest of my life and always remind myself that life is short. That is one good thing I can say about the way I was raised, I have never doubted the love my family and friends have for me nor do I think that they have ever doubted mine. We have always made sure to say I love you, no matter the circumstance. So if I have not told you lately, I love you and am so thankful for every second I have with you in my life!

Love you all!












Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Goodbye!


Today is the day! After 3 years with Staffmark this is my last day. I find that I have torn emotions today. I am very excited to take the next step on my path of life, but will also be leaving another behind me. I have been very fortunate in my career with Staffmark to encounter some amazing people. I have gained knowledge both professionally and personally that I know will be with me the rest of my life. I have made many wonderful friends over the years. Friends that I know my life would not be the same without, friends that I know will be with me forever.(You know who you are!) I have seen many people come and go over my career with Staffmark and have somehow managed to maintain contact with most of them. I am hopeful that my leaving will not be the end for me.

I am reminded of a saying "We are blessed by each person that enters our lives, and because of that person our lives will never be the same."

This holds true for me today because I have met some fabulous people along the way and am truly blessed for being given this opportunity. So thanks for everything.

Love you all!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A Weekend with Emily & The Girl's


Just wanted to share what we found hiding under our bed after Emily left on Sunday night. As most of you know my dogs are my babies and they have a lot of toys! Well, Emily usually spends more time on the weekends playing with Laney, Lilley, and their toys than she does her own. (Of course they don't mind because they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE every second they get with her!) Well Emily had taken most of the toys from their toy box and moved them under our bed. She figured out this weekend that she can climb under the bed and hide. She normally picks them all up before she leaves but this weekend she left them under the bed. Brian and Emily had been gone only minutes when out comes Laney and Lilley with Oli the Octopus. As you can see Oli has one toy tied to EVERY single tentacle. So the girls were both bringing Oli out from the bedroom. They were trying so hard to get the toys away from the Octopus but couldn't. I walk over to help them and pick up Oli only to find out exactly why my babies were having such a hard time. So you see, even when she has headed back home there is never a dull moment with Ms. Emily Reese! Brian and I just cracked up, because of course I left all the toys on there until he got back home. Hope this makes you smile. We did!


*Please note that Brian cannot take his eye's off of Party Poker long enough for me to take a picture*

Love Ya & Clam down Jennifer, just clam down.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Emily


Emily's school pictures are here and boy are they GREAT! We did not get a lot of them but we will share as many as we can. Brian ordered them before I looked at them and I was furious because they were expensive! I had no idea how good they were.

I learned my lesson! I kept complaining that he spent to much money because I can go to Wal-Mart and get a massive amount of pictures for $5.88. I agree though, these were totally worth every penny. Everyday I am more and more amazed at how much she has grown and how smart she is. Just the other day she was writing a letter to her Granddaddy about Veterans Day. She literally wrote almost every word herself and knew exactly where to put ever period, comma, and capitalization. I know I was not learning things like that in the 1st grade. I was probably more worried about stickers, stamps, or eating glue! Brian and I could not be prouder of her, just last week she received an award for being a good student. She was also awarded a certificate and $5.00 for a Blue Turkey that she and Helen made for a project. Helen said she would not share the $5.00 prize with her even when she explained to her that they could not have made the Turkey without the supplies that she purchased. Emily did not care, she wasn't coming off her money. She apparently hides it all somewhere at her Mommies house! The awesome thing is that she saves it to buy things for other people, not herself. She has just cleaned out her closet and is giving all her old things away to children less fortunate than she is to make room for her new Christmas items. She is wonderful!

The sleepover went well, Emily had a wonderful time. Brian headed over to his parent's house to get her on Saturday with a lot of laundry because our dryer broke. Thank God for family! We should have the part today. Hopefully we got the right thing, if not we are stuck with it. Of course he had no problem hanging out with the laundry considering Molly was there. He was telling me that Jennifer was in the other room and he had Molly laughing so hard that Jennifer thought she was crying. I hated I missed that but I was SHOPPING!

Just a few more days at Staffmark and then I am moving on. I am not sure what I am more excited about Thanksgiving Food or my New Job!

Love You All!







Friday, November 17, 2006

Mr. & Mrs. Reese


Mr. & Mrs. Reese
October 22, 2005
Brian and I have just celebrated our one year Anniversary!
Well, here we go! We are joining the rest of the family by starting our very own spot. Make sure to check in on us every now and then, you never know what you may find out! Ms. Molly is here and we are spending all the time we can with her and Jennifer before they have to leave. We wished E-Dawg could be here but he will be here soon.

Emily will be spending the night with Micky, Jill, Jennifer, and Molly tonight. She seemed very excited when we talked to her over the phone last night. She has lost two teeth so far and is racking up on the cash. I just cannot imagine what my life would be like without her in it, she makes everything so much more special. I am truly blessed!

I am starting a new job on the 27th!! Finally no more driving to and from Smyrna daily FOR ME, but Brian will still be making that glorious drive daily. I am going to work for Bemis in Shelbyville and I am very excited about it. I went for my drug screen yesterday and lucky for me it was a hair follicle test. So, needless to say I have a bald spot in my head from the massive amount of hair that was taken. Jennifer and my friend Brenna about freaked when they realized how much hair was taken, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. It did make me realize just how lucky I am to be healthy and to not have the reality of possibly losing all my hair. I tell you it would be a huge adjustment.

Chance is on his way to Gatlinburg for a youth retreat this weekend. He is such an awesome kid. Lindy is teaching kindergarten at Southside and boy she was made for that job. She is a wonderful teacher. She left them with me for 2 minutes the other day and when she returned they were everywhere, all she had to do was clear her throat and they scurried like rats to their seats!

Below you will see just a few of the 320 pictures I took of our 1 Year Anniversay trip to Gatlinburg, TN. The pictures below are my favorites. I'm telling you it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I loved every minute of it. We had a great time and look forward to returning next year. I told everyone I was going to be a photographer when I got there, and I think I did a pretty good job.



That's all for now! Love you all!