Tuesday, November 30, 2010

big girl decisions

I have been making some rash decisions lately. As in the past two weeks lately. I don't know why, I am usually extremely indecisive. And the decisions I've been making should NOT be taken lightly.

The first major decision was moving out. I have wanted to move out and get my own apartment for a really long time. I've always wanted my own place, but I could never afford to live on my own. Until I got my big girl job. Then I started contemplating this whole moving-out idea over the summer. At the end of October, I decided it was time. I had been searching for apartments, and I found quite a few to visit, but one stood out to me. Then two weeks ago, without visiting all most of the apartments, I decided to go with my gut instinct and chose the apartment. And I set my move in date for the first weekend in December, two weeks after my decision was made. Last week I turned in my application. And today I got the call. I have my own apartment! And I move in FOUR days! I couldn't be more excited (or rushed to pack)!

The other major decision was cutting my hair. For those who know me, know it takes A LOT for me to change my hair. I had the same haircut for four years. FOUR YEARS! It stresses me out. And I need moral support when I make the change, aka someone has to go with me for the haircut. I have been contemplating bangs for over a month. Probably more like two months (at least). I haven't had bangs in two years, and I kinda missed them. At the beginning of November, I had my hair "restyled". Which was really just adding more layers. Nothing too major. But no bangs. I chickened out. I really liked my haircut, until this afternoon when I looked at pictures of myself. I really didn't like the way I looked. And I mean really didn't like the way I looked. So I decided to get bangs. I called the salon, and went in after work. I now have bangs.
By the way, I spent more time deciding on a cookware set then I did on the bangs. 

I'm not so sure I like my bangs. It makes me nervous that I won't like my apartment choice that was also made with such little hesitation. I think/hope I just need to get used to my bangs, and then I will love them. Just like my apartment. Let's hope! And maybe I should do a little more thinking before my next major decision...

this is lllooonnnggg overdue...

But I just got the pictures from my birthday! So here they are :)

 Jenna and I all dolled up

our group at AiRIA

 my $100 chip I won playing blackjack!

Jeremy and I with our $100 bills :)

As you can tell from the pictures, a few of my friends and I went to the nightclub AiRIA at the Wild Horse Pass casino in Phoenix. After the nightclub fun-ness, Jeremy and I played backjack and we both won $100! It was aWeSoMe! Thanks for a great birthday everyone!

Monday, November 8, 2010

l-o-v-e-d

My birthday was on Friday, and I just wanted to say how loved I felt by those in my life! All day I received texts, calls, and facebook posts from people wishing me a happy birthday. And a happy birthday it was! So thank you to everyone that made me feel so special :)

I will post pictures of my night out later this week

Friday, October 22, 2010

movin' on up!

I haven't had much to blog about lately, my life consists of work and friends. Bbbuuuttt I do have some exciting news to share :)

I got a promotion

After weeks of waiting, I FINALLY found out I am being promoted to an adjuster!


Here is the story:
Three weeks ago, my supervisor sent out an email announcing that Physical Damage adjuster positions were opening and to respond if interested. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to respond, my coworkers who have been with the company a while always talk about how they hated being adjusters. And I really like my current job. And I like the people I sit by. So I didn't respond. That was Tuesday. Wednesday morning, my supervisor came to my desk and asked if I looked at the email, and told me I should definitely apply for the position. Then he sent an email to those interested, letting us know we needed to bring in an updated resume and fill out a job bid (basically an application). Thursday, my supervisor asked if I had finished the bid and told me to have it ready by Friday. He sent out another email informing us that we would sit with an adjuster on Friday to see what it's like and get a feel for the position. So Friday comes, I sit with an adjuster for half of the morning, then turn in my bid/resume to my supervisor. My supervisor then passed my paperwork onto HR. HR reviewed my paperwork and gave it to the head supervisor of the adjusters (and I mean the head supervisor. like the adjuster's supervisor's supervisor. over the entire company. yeah). The head supervisor comes to my desk with the other claims supervisor (he isn't my direct supervisor, he is over the other claims team), I meet him, and then they tell me if I'm not too busy I could have my interview right then. Obviously I wasn't going to be too busy for that...

The interview was really casual, but it lasted an hour. He didn't ask a lot of questions, just mainly told me what qualities an adjusted needs and asked if I had those qualities. It was a lot of chit chat too. At the end, the he told me he really liked me and would know after he finished interviewing everyone. That was three weeks ago.

The next week, the head supervisor was out of town, so no one else interviewed. Last week was when everyone else interviewed for the position. Over a week after I had my interview. It made me nervous, and I was worried that they would forget about me. Finally this week started, and they told us we would know sometime this week. By Wednesday, I couldn't help it, and I asked my supervisor when they would tell us. He said "tomorrow." It was finally Thursday and I was busy working the day away, not really thinking about the adjuster position, until I came back from lunch and my coworker (who also applied for the position) asked if I received a call from HR. Nope, not yet. She did, it wasn't good news. So then I got REALLY nervous! And I couldn't stop thinking about the position or that fateful call! I kept trying to work, while still freaking out about not getting a call and hearing that others had received bad-news calls. It had been at least an hour, and then HR called me. I had to go to the office. The office. As I left my desk, another coworker was coming back from the office. With good news. So I got really excited, and sure enough, it was good news for me too!


I start training (again, I know) in November. I am excited and nervous and scared and happy all at the same time. I am really going to miss my coworkers (adjusters are on the second floor, claims are on the first floor), and my current position is really easy and I never have to take work home, but I am excited for the change and learning experience this will be. I will definitely update as I go!

And my birthday is in tWo weeks. The big tWeNtY-tWo. I'm getting old.

November will be amazing :)

Monday, September 27, 2010

a picture is worth a thousand words

Which is why I'm going to post pictures for this update!

 this is where I spend my days

and this is where I spend most of my weekends

 with these kids

 oh, and I occasionally go to these events

Did you think this was going to be a long post since it's been a month?!?

You're welcome :)


P.S. This is seriously how I spend most of my time. Work and lake trips. I heart life.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

where does the time go?!?!?

I have no idea how it's been OVER A MONTH since I last posted something. Am I really that busy that I can't update my supposed journal? I guess so. And I have A LOT to post about! Here's what I have been up to in the past month:

- Work, work, and more work. Weekdays until at least 5 pm (I tend to stay late most days) I can be found at my cubicle staring at two computer screens. Yeah, two screens. I need them for the four programs that are constantly up. I just had my 90 day review and I am doing really well! A few weeks ago I was trained to be a specialist for one of our policy systems and now I am back in training to report claims for another company in the Commerce group. If it sounds confusing, that's because it is. I'll explain this one day...

- I have been working out! I go to a trainer once a week and zUmBa class at least once a week. So my Monday, Tuesday, and sometimes Thursday nights are spent at the gym.

- The few weeknights that I am free, I usually spend with friends. We watch a lot of movies. And get QT. Or go out to dinner. And swim. We went swimming a lot this past month. We pretty much swim or watch movies and almost always have food or beverages. It's a nice break.

- The weekends are as packed as my week! Three weekends ago I went to the lake. AND I GOT UP ON THE WAKEBOARD! It was awesome, to say the least. And now I'm addicted. Two weekends ago it was my fabulous father's birthday, so I went to Tucson. We went swimming, had tacos and busted out the chocolate fountain. It was also awesome. Last weekend was another lake trip. Note the addiction. I got up on the wakeboard every time! It was more than awesome. Except when I got a gnarly bruise on my thigh and almost had a concussion. But that was still kinda awesome. And I can't wait to go back!

- Did I mention work? Full-time. I'm a grown up now. Weird.

- My friend Erin and her cute little family moved to Colorado :( This is the THIRD month in a row that one of my friends has moved out of state. Lame.

- I found out that my-sister's-best-friend-who-is-basically-my-sister is having a girl in January! I am so excited for another little baby and for another niece :)

This weekend is my nephew Logan's first birthday party! My family is coming up for the weekend, so it will be nice to see them again! And next week is my marvelous mother's birthday so I will be in Tucson next weekend. That is two weekends in a row that I will see my family! That hasn't happened in a lllooonnnggg time.

I think that just about sums up my past month. I will try to post more often so it isn't ridiculously long next time!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

it's the little things

Let me start off by saying I am sooooo blessed. Way more blessed than I probably should be. But lately I have been kinda down. Not all the time, but more down than usual. It all started last week when I had a really bad night. And ever since then I just haven't been the same.

It's little things that make me sad. I miss my family. I am stressed at work. I hate waking up early (although I am getting better at it!). The list goes on...

Bbbuuuttt, it's also the little things that make me happy. I love my family. I love that my dad took me to lunch when he traveled through town. I love my job. I love that I am pretty much used to waking up early. The list goes on...

So, my point is, it really is the little things that count. And there is usually a silver lining to everything. So be happy :)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

what.a.great.day

So I came across this video the other day. It is quite possibly the best speech ever. Check it out!



p.s. you can see me a couple times when it scans the graduates :)

Monday, June 28, 2010

i just don't know

I haven't felt like blogging lately, but since this is like my own little personal journal, I figure I should probably update. So here is what has been going on for the past two weeks:

- Work now runs my life. It has even given me an 11 o'clock bedtime
- I finished training! I've been workin on my own for over a week now :)  
And by on my own, I mean asking tons of questions all the time
- I got my first grown up paycheck. YaY!
- I went to Tucson for father's day weekend. I <3 my dad
- My friend Erin had her baby. I am his honorary aunt. LOVE IT
- My best friend moved to Texas. It was a sad day.

I feel like the weeks now fly by, and the days all seem to blur together, but then I realize that it has only been three weeks since I started working! Maybe because I am actually being productive with my time, it's as if there are more hours in the day (probably because I am not sleeping them all away, there are more hours. This is also sad). I don't know what's going on, but it's weirding me out! I hope I get used to this.

So that's my update. I am going to Tucson this weekend to help my sister move. And I get my first paid holiday off! Since July 4th is Sunday, I don't have to work Monday. Being grown up does have its perks :)

Monday, June 14, 2010

1 week down, a bAziLliOn more to go

I should have posted this last Friday or over the weekend, but better late than never!

My first week of work is over and I couldn't be happier... for a break :D Going from not working at all to working 40 hours a week almost killed me! This past week was just training in a classroom, which was really boring and made the days seem super long, but there are only a few more days of training before I get to actually start working. There are a bunch of new people training with me, so I'm not the only newbie asking tons of questions, which makes me feel better. I am sure things will be great once training is over!

Besides work, this week was way busy. I don't know why I did this to myself, but I stayed out late EVERY night last week. I even went to another baseball game Tuesday night (which was so worth it, free tickets on the diamond level is one thing you do not say no to)! I had such a great week though, being tired was a small price to pay.

My best friend comes home tomorrow! He has been gone for a couple weeks on vacation, so I am really excited to see him and hear about his trip. So no matter what, this week will be amazing! Even if I will be working 40 hours...

Sunday, June 6, 2010

it's off to work i go

Well, my last week of freedom is officially over! Tomorrow is my first day at my new job, or as I like to call it, my grown up job. I am scared out of my mind. And I am really sad that I will no longer have spring breaks, summer vacations, winter breaks, or Fridays off. This almost makes me miss college. I will not, however, miss being poor, homework/exams/grades, or having way too much free time (*going* to class three nights a week + no job = tons and tons of free time = boredom).

To celebrate my lack of responsibility, I packed the week full of:
-sleeping in
-staying up late
-days filled with nothing
-hanging out with friends
-a random trip to Tucson
-going to a Diamondbacks game
-and spending time with family

It was quite the week! I didn't take any pictures, so there aren't any pictures to post. I will have to get better at that...

Tucson turned out to be a great trip! I decided (last minute) to go down for my brother's birthday, and ended up doing a lot more than planned. I helped paint my nephew's room at my dad's house, saw a bunch of friends and most of my family, and got my car fixed by my amazing dad! It's trips like this that make me miss home. But I love it in Phoenix, and I am super grateful that I have a job, so trips like this will have to suffice!

Church was great today, and just what I needed before I start my job :)
Hopefully this week turns out well!
Wish me luck on my first day of work!




*Okay, so I had class three nights a week my last semester, and I might have occasionally missed a class now and then

Saturday, May 29, 2010

i ain't gonna live forever

Okay, enough with the Bon Jovi lyrics. Maybe.

Since I just graduated from ASU and will be a working girl soon, I figured a blog might be a good way to document my journey into adulthood. Plus, I am awful at keeping a journal. So this will be like my own little online journal. And you can read it.

So, welcome to my blog!
I'll try to keep you updated...