This Past Week In Review

Lowlights from this past week:

• Thursday - Rob's truck battery died. Thankfully he was still in the parking lot at work so someone was able to give him a quick jump. He made it to the battery place and got a new battery installed. Thought it was okay, but then...
• Saturday - My car made a weird noise, then the "check engine" light turned on. Last time this happened I remember there was some major work that needed to be done. Not a good sign.
• Sunday - Rob saw white smoke while driving his truck. He popped the hood and found that his radiator was busted. It's currently sitting at the shop, courtesy of a free tow (thank you Geico Roadside Assistance!)

Highlights from this past week:

• Monday - Marked the beginning of my 27th week of pregnancy, yay!
• Tuesday - Heard the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office and he is continue to do well!
• Wednesday - One of my best friends from college was in town for work and came by to spend some quality time and hang out.
• Thursday - Same BFF treated me to a much needed mani/pedi.
• Thursday - Had lunch with two of my BFFs.
• Thursday - Hubby brought home a 6-pack of Cinnabons for me to enjoy. (Don't worry, I only ate two.)
• Friday - Hubby brought home the Filet-O-Fish sandwiches I was craving from McD's.
• Saturday - Enjoyed a delicious home-made dinner, and company, with friends.

So while all the bad crap happened at the end of the week, I will harness my Chi and will focus on all the good stuff that happened at the beginning of the week... ohmmmmmm....

Then and Now

Then...
Growing up an only child was lonely at times. Especially since I lived on the Northwest side of Chicago and went to school in the South side of Chicago. I had friends in my neighborhood, but through the years they moved away. It was hard to make new friends in the area because I didn't go to the nearby schools and there weren't that many kids on my block.

Don't get me wrong, I had plenty of friends from school and extracurricular activities (piano classes, dance classes, music classes, Filipino organizations, etc.) but they didn't live close by. In the summertime I would get super excited when friends would sleep over (I was never allowed to sleep over anyone's house) because that meant we could play for two days. It was fun.

My aunt, may she rest in peace, used to play with me. As I got older, it just wasn't the same as playing with other kids. So I used my imagination a lot (since we didn't have computers and video games back then... I didn't have Atari) and had fun with my Barbies, other toys/games, and I can't remember what else . I would just close my bedroom door and found ways to fill my day. Often, very often indeed, it was just me, myself and I.

Now...
I'm on leave from work and find myself, for the most part, home alone (until the hubby comes home from work). My friends are all at work, or at home taking care of their kids. Every now and then friends come to visit me (since I'm not supposed to drive), which is usually on the weekends, and that's always fun. Hee hee - kinda reminds me of my childhood summers.

I fill my days with tasks, small chores, and just about anything to keep busy (there's always something to do). I'm not allowed to lift anything heavy, nor do anything strenuous, and am absolutely not allowed to exercise. I'm rarely bored, and if I ever am, I remind myself that this "me" time that I have right now is precious. I will never have this calm, quiet and alone time ever again.

In just a few short months the hubby and I will be bringing a baby into this world. We look forward to this with great joy and Lord knows we've waiting a long time for this! The 11 years of marriage that the hubby and I had, of just us, will be changing soon... and we wouldn't want it any other way.

I'm thankful for what I had "then" and am eagerly waiting for what's to come "now"...

Now What?

I need to vent...

I've been on leave from work since mid-January. Since then co-workers have been keeping in touch from time to time. Hubby and I have discussed it, at great length, and agreed that it is necessary for me to return to work after the baby is born.

Last month, via text message, I was alerted that our company let 10% of our staff go to cut costs. I was safe.

The other week I was updating my personal address book. I called my office, expecting to speak to the receptionist (who was a temp), and found out that she was let go. I was surprised to hear my co-worker answer the phone (as she's usually out in the field visiting clients) and she informed me that to continue to cut costs some of our field offices would be closing at the end of this month. I wasn't surprised to hear that our office was going to close - especially since we have two other offices in SoCal. We've done this in the past and employees simply worked from home. Not a shocker - most of us do this anyway and go into the office once, maybe twice a week. No one from our office was let go, so again, I was safe.

The other day I texted a co-worker to follow up on an expense check that I hadn't received yet. Then, and only then, was I informed that our company had been bought out (literally the day before) and a merger was taking place. What!? Could no one have called me, texted me or emailed me, to let me know of this news??? Granted, yes, I know I'm on leave, and yes, I know that maybe (just maybe) no one wanted to stress me out considering I'm pregnant - but still - THIS IS HUGE!

I went online to find articles about the merge, and sure enough, there were plenty. One quote that really stuck out to me was, "It is unclear whether the remaining employees at [name of my company here] will remain as part of the larger merged business." Wow.

If I weren't on leave, if I weren't pregnant, I could probably take this news a little better. Since I'm out of the loop - it's taking me some time to digest this. I've always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS survived RIFs at every company that I've been with. Not sure about this time...

I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'm sure we'll find a way to be fine. But still... with my hormones and a baby on the way... I'm not thinking as clearly as I did pre-pregnancy. So.... now what???

I Am So Thankful

Several months ago a friend talked me into joining Facebook. Since I'm on modified bed rest, and am no longer working from home, I have plenty of free time. Facebook is addictive. Especially now that hubby hooked up the scanner to the computer in our bedroom. I found a ton of old pictures (i.e. before we had a digital camera) and have been scanning them for months. I've even posted a bunch of them on Facebook to share with friends.

In scanning these pictures I'm reliving all the fun we had - especially at past parties. I see the pictures of all our friends and am overwhelmed by all the friendship, support and love that we have been surrounded with through the years. I am so thankful that we've made so many friends, and am even more thankful that we're still in touch with many of them.

Maybe it's the hormones... but really... I am so so so so very thankful.