Life has been such a blur the past few weeks. I have no clue where the month of April went! Oh and before I forget...

Now that we got that out of the way... yeah holy shit it is already May! That means I have been living in SC for almost half of a year. I have been working at Gloria Jeans for three months. Rusty graduates power school next month. Just so much has happened and is about to happen. 

Wanna know what I have been up to? Wanna know what I am currently up to? 

No?

Okay you can stop reading right here. 

Currently, I am just enjoying sitting down. Both of my feet are propped up on the sofa and I am just loving having some quiet time. Rusty is studying. Jasper is chewing... on my fucking sock. Ugh. I give him so many toys, chew sticks, and he decides he will chew on my sock. Yeah, I just noticed that as I was writing. Too bad this isn't a video blog, yall would have had some legit entertainment! Oh well, I need to buy new socks anyways... 

I am mentally and physically preparing myself for another holiday at Edible Arrangements! This time I am an actual employee. A few weeks back (around the time I stopped blogging for a bit) I started looking for a second job. By chance, this was also the time that Edible Arrangements was hiring! Talk about good timing. I started looking for a job, because I only work about three days a week at Gloria Jeans and that leaves me with a lot of bored downtime while Rusty isn't home. When I could get extra hours at GJ it was when Rusty was at home. Now, I have two jobs and a lot less time just sitting around on my couch. :-) I am much happier this way.

I am really liking working at Edible Arrangements so far. I found another job with great supervisors and coworkers. The work is fun and the time passes by quickly. I just wish there was music. I am actually NOT working at the same location that I worked at on Valentines Day. So, I really and truly am the new kid. I hate being new, but since I worked as a temp before I don't feel QUITE as awkward. :-/ I am EXTREMELY thankful I got this job. It keeps me moving, it is unique, it has GREAT hours, it pays really well, and I work with great people. 

Gloria Jeans is going well. I really do consider my coworkers some of my best friends here. I wish we could hang out together outside of the coffee shop, but there is always someone working. :-( My only complaint is one I have had all along, I don't have weekends unless I ask for them. I hate not having my time off coordinating with Rusty's. I moved here (SC) to be with my husband and allow us to get our lives started together, side by side, before he deploys. I just hate that our schedules don't sync up. I know my boss does try though. Next week my schedule is only one closing shift and I have Sunday off. It is a lot better than some weekends. I think eventually I will need a set schedule. I may be trained to close, and I actually wouldn't mind closing two times a week as my only shifts there. Honestly, I just want to stay there, because I love the job so much. I would miss it every day if I were to leave. Every day some one at EA has asked me why I am still working there, I have a true love for Gloria Jeans and the people that work there. We will see how it all plays out. I just know it would break my heart to leave my family at Gloria Jeans. 

On a different note... my car is finally fixed 2 months later! I have a working headlight, a hood that opens, and an oil change. :-) I am glad that I have one less thing off my mind. 

Jasper is doing well. I wish I could get him in to intermediate training classes, but I am going to have to wait until my life settles down a little bit first. I am always so tired, learning how to do a new job is EXHAUSTING! Meanwhile I feel bad that I haven't gotten to take Jasper to daycare or to the park in two weeks. :-(

Well, that is basically my life right now. Work, work, wanting to spend more time with Rusty, and Jasper. I really feel like I have lost most of my navy wife friends. :-( It sucks, but since I have two jobs I don't have time to just hang out at someone's house during the day, go over to watch TV at night, exc. It just hasn't worked out well for me. I miss having social time, I hope once I am finished training at EA and maybe get more of a set schedule at GJ my life should be balanced and I can start all over again and try to make friends with the navy wives. :-( I didn't even get to say goodbye to my friend Katy before she left for New York. I am really upset about that. :-(

Every time I get a chance to sit down and catch my breath, I feel like it is time to work again. Despite 15 hour work days and my crazy schedule, I am really happy with where I am in my life. :-)

Now I am going to go back to being lazy and relaxing before I begin 5 days of Mother's Day insanity at Edible Arrangements!

I might need to start a new photo challenge to force myself to blog again. I miss it. I have just been so crazy busy these past few weeks. I really haven't had much time to myself.

The only reason I am not out running errands, working, or doing something else of that nature is, because I am at the auto repair shop getting my car worked on. This is something that I have needed to do for about two months now. Oops! It all started when I noticed my headlight was out. I made the hubby fix that since I don't even know where to replace a headlight! In the process of attempting to replace my headlight, Rusty discovered that my hood was broken! He couldn't get that latch thing to work. It took awhile, but I did get around to going to get that fixed.... well sorta. One day I took it to the walmart auto shop and they told me that I needed to take it to a legit shop that would have some special tool. Soooo... I had to do some research about where to go. That took way more time that it should have. During this time I also became overdue for an oil change. Ugh. Yeah so now I have three things messed up in my little honda. :-(

Well here I am at the shop and this very nice man Charles just informed me that they have been tinkering with my car for a few hours and cannot get anything accomplished. Oh fuck. He mentioned things about maybe having to take apart my bumper, this that and the other. Idk what is going to happen. they are only open Monday through Friday. I don't know when I can get with my husband, get an ENTIRE day off from both jobs to be carless. I am going to need a friend to help me out. :-/ I don't know who since most of my closer friends here share a car with their husbands. Maybe I can get my Monday or Tuesday shift covered at Gloria Jeans and do it then... ugh. This is fusturating.

I don't even feel like blogging anymore. I am so upset about what to do.

I feel guilty for not blogging since I finished the 31 day challenge. This past week has FLOWN by. I seriously am clueless as to how it went by so quickly. Hmm... I worked a good bit. Spent some quality time with my man. (I had a free Saturday for the first time in almost two months!) Cleaned the house some, my mom is coming this weekend and I am so excited!

Life has been going pretty well. :-)

My biggest complaint is not being able to see Rusty nearly as much as I would like. Most of it is because of my job has me working mostly nights and weekends. I love that I can pretty much count on having Friday off to go out with Rusty and his friends at the end of the week, but I would really like to have more time to relax with him on the weekends. I still love my job though. Being a Barista is so much fun! It is even better, because I work with some pretty awesome people. I look forward to going in to work, because I always know I will be working with someone great. After being a part of the Georgia Hall staff last year, having great co-workers is ESSENTIAL to any job I have in the future. While I hate the hours, I still enjoy my job because of the great people I work with every day.

I almost went back to school for a pharm tech certification degree thing. It is a 6month program that a lot of my friends are doing, best part is it would be 100% free. However, after exploring the program a little more, I decided it truly wasn't for me. I think the man embellished how nice the job market is. Plus, medical isn't something I want to do forever (or even more than like 2 years lol). I just feel like it will be a waste of time. I am just going to wait until we are at our next duty station and finish school then. :-) I know it will make me happier in the long run.

Jasper is doing fantastic! He is such a sweet little dog. He had his third day :-) We were even able to take him to the dog park last weekend and I wasn't humiliated. :-P I really am so much happier with him in my life. Every day he does something to make me laugh.

Today I went to a couponing class and HOLY CRAP! That stuff gets confusing. I am going to try to up my game a bit. I don't know how extreme I can get with it, but I think I know a little more to get me going. :-)


I am bored with blogging for the evening since Rusty just got home. :-) Sorry there are no pictures!

Day 26 - A picture of your day

Today was actually pretty crappy. I spent another Saturday at Gloria Jeans. Don't get me wrong, I still love my job and the people I work with. However today, I was just not feelin the love. I just wanted to be with my husband on his day off. I knew working weekends were a part of the position when I was hired, I guess I just didn't really know it would be EVERY weekend. It is really hard for Rusty and I since the weekends are all he has. 

Again though, I love my job. I love making expresso drinks and chillers. I love meeting new people, even if our interaction is brief. I really am happy as a barista. It is just hitting me how close we may be getting to deployments and I feel like I am hardly seeing him as it is. We talked about me getting another job, but honestly that wouldn't even be worth it. In a few months he will be finished with power school and in prototype he won't have a set M-F schedule. Then I may RATHER work weekends. Today I was just really down about the whole thing though. :-( 

Since I was so down and mentally preoccupied I also didn't enjoy my job like usual. I didn't feel connected to my coworkers, kinda like the new kid again.... pushed out of the loop. I felt like they would intentionally wait to say things until I was not around. Just little things like that. It was probably just the mood I was in though. 

Sigh.... another wasted Saturday at Gloria Jeans...

I thought that slogan was kinda ironic. lol

It was raining this morning, that gave me a nasty little headache and a bad hairday! It started pouring rain right when I had to get Jasper to pee before going to work. That was not a pleasant experience. 

Well, little did I know in SC we need to prepare for rains like Noah did. Thankfully if you head to Northwoods mall you don't have to build your arc... you can just buy one... in the middle of the mall....

Yeah... This was right outside of Gloria Jean's in the mall. 

It entertained me watching the GJ customers (and employees!) climb on the boats. I have a feeling this will make tomorrow especially busy for a Saturday.

GJ is going better, I am doing a lot better with the drinks and I feel more confident. I am no longer in training after my manager realized I have been working for nearly a month. :-) Tomorrow is my first day off training. I think.... I hope... I am ready. Bring on those chillers!! :-) My coworkers are still really great. My boss is unlike any I have ever had before and I am overall really happy with my job! 

Please wish me luck tomorrow!! Busy busy Saturday!! 9 hours... Oh and to my visiting friends... I get to share the tips now... cough cough... ;-)

I now leave you with a fantastic navy themed video! 

WARNING! POST IS A LITTLE GRAHIC...BLOOD!

Today was a pretty good day at work, except I kept hurting myself. I guess I was extra clumsy today! 

First when I was sealing a lit I cut my finger a little bit.  It was during a rush so I used a sticker to cover it up. My coworker got a good laugh out of that one. We were out of bandaids and we were too busy for me to go to the shop next door. 

Then later this happened.... Sorry it is a little bloody/graphic. 

I took a picture, because it KEPT bleeding! And I have NO idea how I did it or when I did it! Thankfully the lady gave me TWO bandaids when I went for the first cut.

Fixed that one right up! Tomorrow I am going to go get some extra bandaids before work. Who knows what I am capable of... 

It is super weird going from a desk job to a job with no desk... or even chair. Moving all the time. If I am standing still at Gloria Jeans.. I shouldn't be lol. I miss my desk, but I am having a great time.

Server v. Barista- I like it better than serving, because you don't deal with the douchebags for longer than about 5min. When you are serving they can be there for hours at a time. It is also nice getting paid hourly instead of hoping your tables will give you a good tip.

I really miss my coworkers from VSU. Like, they are the biggest thing I miss about VSU. However, I am so thankful that I like the coworkers at Gloria Jeans. I think I have finally met all of them and they are all wonderful. I am not sure if they care for me though. I don't think they *dislike* me, but I am not sure if they like me either. I think there have been a few moments where they were talking about me (and/or laughing at me) when I came over... :-/ I do have confidence that they cannot be as bitchy as some of these freakin navy wives. I hope they like me, but I know I have a "different" personality sometimes. I was invited to go bowling with some of them tonight, but I think it was a halfhearted invite. It's whatever. As long as I continue to enjoy the actual job, I should be fine.

There are several moments where I just feel in the way. It really sucks. I am trying my hardest to catch on quickly so I can actually feel like I am helping out. I hate asking questions every two minutes, but I hate messing up more. Being the new guy sucksss.

I really enjoy the actual job. It is pretty fun and I LOVE working again. That unemployed, non-student thing was not working for me. It is really fun when it gets busy. Until, I mess up. :-/ Then it throws me off. Today was stressful, it was my first Saturday. There were so many moments where I just felt in the way. I am not sure if I was ready to handle a Saturday. I still feel like I don't know enough. Last night was kinda stressful too, I helped close and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I was shoved in the back to do the dishes. At least back there I was out of the way of those who did. :-/

Overall it is hard, but fun. I am still trying to figure out if I fit in with the coworkers. Thankfully though I get to go home at the end of the night and leave all of my work in the mall. (Something that I could NOT do as an RA). I am so very thankful that I was given this opportunity. I will meet some interesting people, get out of the house, make a little money, and learn some new things.

--

OH! One super exciting thing about my job is one of my closest friends up here got hired! Morgan, the one I worked with at Edible Arrangements. I am like crazy excited about that. Apparently it may cause a problem with another Morgan, but idk her very well. I am just happy that I was able to help out and get Morgan a job and on top of that a job with ME! I doubt we will work together very much at first since we are both the new kids. Fun will be had when we DO work together though!

For those who don't know... I got a six day job at Edible Arrangements. It was to help out with their VDay load. It was supposed to be 6 days from 7am until "dinner time". Some days "dinner time" was 10:30am and others it was 7:30pm. Those 10:30days it seemed hardly worth our drive. In the end it was totally worth it though. We met some.... unique people. Most of them. Morgan and I gave them nicknames. 

"Dog"- She was supposedly a dog groomer for the past 16 years... I think I am going to have to call bullshit on that. She didn't know anything. 

"The Old Lady"- She wasn't there long. She got sick. 

"The Photographer"- She was also full of shit.

"Yankee"- Ugh... the name says it.

"The Tall Dude"- Super tall... kinda kept to himself. He was always tired, because he was a bartender.

Kathy- She was really cool. She didn't get a nickname, because we liked her.

Plus side, all of the people that ACTUALLY worked there were really cool! :-)

It wasn't what I expected, but I really liked it. I got to know Morgan better and made some extra cash. 

This was the general set up of the back. Pretty small. 

Pineapple hearts. Super hard to get on those little sticks.

Lots of hearts!

Kale. Eff that ish. Morgan and I HATED that station. 

Every morning Morgan and I went to Dunkin Doughnuts. I totally felt like I was cheating on my coffee job at Gloria Jeans, but in my defense they are not open at 6:30am. 

I "skewered" THOUSANDS of strawberries. Dryed them too. 

Here are the "pros" making some of the arrangements. Pretty cool job!

Pineapple Daisy! I loved these things! So cute!!

Another note... at this job we listened to the same radio station. This particular radio station played Lady Gaga's new song every hour... on the hour... freakin clockwork. I am officially sick of that song. Ugh. 

Yes. This is me sitting on the floor. I need a nap. Kthanksbye.

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I have kinda wanted to get into blogging for awhile. I was going to start when I moved to SC, but the past month has been pretty depressing. I figured I didn't need a written account about how much Netflix I watched and how many hours I spent sitting around on the sofa. Finally I have a job, which gets me off the couch and gives me something worth writing about.

After 25 sent applications and resumes I finally have a job. It is actually one I am pretty exciting about. I am in training to become a Barista at Gloria Jean's. It is a little coffee shop in the mall. Never heard of it? Well, neither had I until I moved here. Apparently it is a pretty huge chain, just not in the US. My boss says in Australia it is like Starbucks. Who knew?

Today was only my first day in training. I have a long way to go. I learned all about coffee, tea, the company, how to clean expresso machines, and stuff like that. Some of it was really interesting. I have tried to get in to learning about wine for some time now, I guess coffee will be my new thing. I read two pages about the proper way to drink coffee and evaluate it for it's taste, aroma, n such. It is apparently called "cupping." I'm no expert, but it would be pretty stinkin cool if I was. 

I am really excited about my new job, because it will get me out of the house and give me a life again. I have never just sat around in my life. I always have a jam packed schedule. This past month and a half started to drive me crazy. I applied at 25 different places, desperate for a job. I ended up getting the job I felt like I was least likely to get. I really wanted the position at the animal shelter, but I guess in the end I will be happier coming home smelling like coffee instead of like dog.