I've been working at my new job for almost a month now, and so far so good. The girl I work with is great and fun to be around, and each day I get more familiar with how things run at the house. There is even a pet pig named Piggy that I get to help take care of, and today I popped her/him some microwave popcorn and threw it around the pen for it to snack on. Piggy has a pet bunny that lives with her/him, and it ran around eating the popcorn too. But if you can believe it, feeding Piggy and Bunny microwave popcorn was not the most exciting thing I did today at work.
I may be successfully avoiding the massive amounts of snow that Boston has been getting this winter, but one thing I never had to worry about while living in Boston were tornados. What did we get today in Atlanta? A tornado watch. I usually think tornado watches, or really any kind of weather watches, are silly. Until it turns into a warning or I see some evidence that the weatherman is for real, I don't even think twice about it. Well maybe that is because I grew up in PA and spent the last 7 years in Boston, where the likelihood of a storm causing any real damage to my apartment on the hill in Brighton was not too high. After today, I think I will take watches more seriously here in Georgia.
Around 4:45pm today my boss called to tell me she didn't think it was safe outside to be driving because of the storm/tornado watch, and that I should probably stay at work until it passed through. That, and also that I should seek help from some guys stronger than I am and move the girl I work with (her daughter) into her closet away from the windows. The rain, lightening, hail and strong winds seemed to be getting worse, so we did as we were told and moved to the closet. At first I thought her brother was kidding when he asked me if I wanted to hide in the clothes, but he wasn't. So in I went, and for the next 10 minutes we played Words With Friends on her ipad until the storm passed and we could get out of the closet. They informed me that it is normal to have 10 bad storms/tornado watches each spring, and I informed them that I just moved here in August and I was unaware of how frequently these things happened in GA. I ended up leaving around 6:30pm, and besides some heavy rain the drive home was fine. At least now I know what to do the next time we are under a tornado watch!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Shopping styles
Today Rob and I made two pretty big purchases- plane tickets and patio furniture for our balcony. Both purchases were equally stressful, and do you know why? Because Rob and I are two completely different types of shoppers. In a nutshell, I shop like my Mom and Rob shops like my Dad.
I am always on the hunt for deals, I look at the store sale ads, and I use coupons whenever I can. Before making a big purchase I do my research, go store to store to see what all of my options are, take time to contemplate what I like best and maybe even call someone for a second opinion before heading to the register. I like to think that I do all of this because I am a smart shopper who wants to save money and get the best deal that I can, but I will also admit that a lot of it has to do with me being very indecisive in general.
Rob is pretty much the opposite kind of shopper. I don't know if he has ever clipped a coupon, and he is definitely not indecisive. He can make purchasing decisions at lightening speed. No joke, I am almost positive that he decided on and bought his car in less time than it took me to decide which outdoor plant stand I liked best at Home Goods, and this was after I had found and narrowed the decision down to 3 stands. When he sees something he likes, he buys it, it's that simple. No running around town from store to store to see what else might be out there or waiting until something goes on sale to buy it. I've known that Rob shops this way for quite some time now, as we just hit our together 7 years mark, but it didn't matter to me as much when he was using his own money for clothes from J Crew or running shoes. Now it's our money being spent on bigger items, so it matters more.
I have wanted patio furniture for our balcony since we moved into our apartment last August. Patio furniture was not very high on Rob's apartment wish list, which is probably why we still don't have more than 2 outdoor folding chairs out there right now. I was too indecisive to pick something I was willing to spend the money on, and Rob just didn't care. Last November my Mom helped me pick out the plant stand, plants, candles and outdoor rug that are currently on the balcony, and I planted new flowers in the pots this weekend since the cold weather killed most of my November plants. All that is missing is a nice place to sit.
This week Target put their patio furniture in the stores, and I found an all-weather wicker love seat, chair and side table that I liked. Of course I was still debating the furniture options today, so I went online to look at the pieces again, only to find that they were on sale online and they qualified for free shipping! That was the kick in the butt I needed. I brought Rob to Target tonight to show him the furniture and he approved. All that was left to do was add it to my cart online and click purchase, right? Well, what would have taken Rob less than a minute to do, literally took me 30 minutes. To get the matching table, or not to get the matching table? Could I find one at Home Goods for less money that still looked OK? (Hello..me + Home Goods = 2 hours to shop for 1 thing) Should we splurge and get the 2 matching chairs, even though we only really need 1, because they are on sale too, or wait and just get 1 at the store? Ah they don't qualify for free shipping, now what? Rob was such a good sport, though I don't know how many more times he could have handled me showing him pictures of accent tables online and asking if he thought it would match the furniture or not.
All in all, I think it's probably best we are different kinds of shoppers, even if we stress each other out when it comes time to make a purchase. We balance each other out. I use my coupons and save us money at the grocery store each week by buying what's on sale, and Rob makes buying big items like our TV or blue ray player pretty easy and painless, which I could never do. Our patio furniture should be arriving in about a week...I hope it was worth the wait!
I am always on the hunt for deals, I look at the store sale ads, and I use coupons whenever I can. Before making a big purchase I do my research, go store to store to see what all of my options are, take time to contemplate what I like best and maybe even call someone for a second opinion before heading to the register. I like to think that I do all of this because I am a smart shopper who wants to save money and get the best deal that I can, but I will also admit that a lot of it has to do with me being very indecisive in general.
Rob is pretty much the opposite kind of shopper. I don't know if he has ever clipped a coupon, and he is definitely not indecisive. He can make purchasing decisions at lightening speed. No joke, I am almost positive that he decided on and bought his car in less time than it took me to decide which outdoor plant stand I liked best at Home Goods, and this was after I had found and narrowed the decision down to 3 stands. When he sees something he likes, he buys it, it's that simple. No running around town from store to store to see what else might be out there or waiting until something goes on sale to buy it. I've known that Rob shops this way for quite some time now, as we just hit our together 7 years mark, but it didn't matter to me as much when he was using his own money for clothes from J Crew or running shoes. Now it's our money being spent on bigger items, so it matters more.
I have wanted patio furniture for our balcony since we moved into our apartment last August. Patio furniture was not very high on Rob's apartment wish list, which is probably why we still don't have more than 2 outdoor folding chairs out there right now. I was too indecisive to pick something I was willing to spend the money on, and Rob just didn't care. Last November my Mom helped me pick out the plant stand, plants, candles and outdoor rug that are currently on the balcony, and I planted new flowers in the pots this weekend since the cold weather killed most of my November plants. All that is missing is a nice place to sit.This week Target put their patio furniture in the stores, and I found an all-weather wicker love seat, chair and side table that I liked. Of course I was still debating the furniture options today, so I went online to look at the pieces again, only to find that they were on sale online and they qualified for free shipping! That was the kick in the butt I needed. I brought Rob to Target tonight to show him the furniture and he approved. All that was left to do was add it to my cart online and click purchase, right? Well, what would have taken Rob less than a minute to do, literally took me 30 minutes. To get the matching table, or not to get the matching table? Could I find one at Home Goods for less money that still looked OK? (Hello..me + Home Goods = 2 hours to shop for 1 thing) Should we splurge and get the 2 matching chairs, even though we only really need 1, because they are on sale too, or wait and just get 1 at the store? Ah they don't qualify for free shipping, now what? Rob was such a good sport, though I don't know how many more times he could have handled me showing him pictures of accent tables online and asking if he thought it would match the furniture or not.
All in all, I think it's probably best we are different kinds of shoppers, even if we stress each other out when it comes time to make a purchase. We balance each other out. I use my coupons and save us money at the grocery store each week by buying what's on sale, and Rob makes buying big items like our TV or blue ray player pretty easy and painless, which I could never do. Our patio furniture should be arriving in about a week...I hope it was worth the wait!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Week in review
It has been a pretty busy, exciting week here at the Porter residence. From jobs to cars, a surprise visit to a planned visit. Even the Super Bowl made for an exciting evening, but since it didn't end well I won't even go there.
It's been a long time coming, but I got a job and have re-entered the working world! I haven't blogged much about my job searching experience, but what can I say- it wasn't easy. Sure there was the move and settling in, the trips to Chicago, Florida and New York City, taking care of and training a puppy, the holidays, visits from family and friends, and the New Years cruise. Of course I allowed all of those things to take time away from my job hunting, but I think I would have gone crazy if I hadn't. I can't tell you how many jobs I applied to, hours and days were spent scouring the internet job sites, and how many places I didn't even hear back from. But I can tell you that from January 13-26th I applied to 41 jobs, from which I got a handful of calls and emails, and I started working as a caregiver last week.
Me getting a job meant one thing was certain. We needed a second vehicle. Since we moved to Atlanta, Rob and I have been sharing my Saturn Vue. It made sense- why make 2 car payments and pay for 2 insurance policies if only one of us was working and needed to be somewhere each day? It made sense, but it wasn't always easy sharing 1 car. Getting up early and fighting traffic to drive Rob to work, just so I could get to a 20 minute vet appointment, only to pick him up again at 5. Asking people (aka Tom) if he could pick me up from dog class at Petsmart because Rob had class on Tuesday evenings. Always asking the other person if they needed the car for anything before we made plans to go somewhere. Well, no more car sharing for us! This past weekend Rob bought a used 2010 Pontiac G6 and it has been great. Funny enough, I wasn't with Rob when he test drove the car and I hadn't even seen a picture of a G6 on the internet, let alone the actual car he was going to buy, before he bought it. Heck, Roxanne got to ride in the car before I did. I think I deserve some cool-wife points for letting him do his thing and not getting all involved and inquisitive over such a big purchase.
Last Thursday night I worked from 5-11pm, getting some training in before I started working on my own this week. Around 10pm I checked my phone because I knew Rob would be wondering where I was since I wasn't sure how late my training would go. I was pleasantly surprised to find texts from Rob saying my Dad was at our apartment. His flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Charleston that evening, so he got a hold of Rob and asked if he could stay at our place. I think Rob got to hang out with him longer than I did since I got home so late, but he did take me out to breakfast the next morning, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Tomorrow I'm flying to Harrisburg, PA to visit new Mama and Daddy Hagerman and the not yet 2 month old babe! I haven't seen Linds since my wedding, so it will be great to have some best friend time together, and of course I can't wait to hold little Savannah. Look how cute...
It's been a long time coming, but I got a job and have re-entered the working world! I haven't blogged much about my job searching experience, but what can I say- it wasn't easy. Sure there was the move and settling in, the trips to Chicago, Florida and New York City, taking care of and training a puppy, the holidays, visits from family and friends, and the New Years cruise. Of course I allowed all of those things to take time away from my job hunting, but I think I would have gone crazy if I hadn't. I can't tell you how many jobs I applied to, hours and days were spent scouring the internet job sites, and how many places I didn't even hear back from. But I can tell you that from January 13-26th I applied to 41 jobs, from which I got a handful of calls and emails, and I started working as a caregiver last week.
Me getting a job meant one thing was certain. We needed a second vehicle. Since we moved to Atlanta, Rob and I have been sharing my Saturn Vue. It made sense- why make 2 car payments and pay for 2 insurance policies if only one of us was working and needed to be somewhere each day? It made sense, but it wasn't always easy sharing 1 car. Getting up early and fighting traffic to drive Rob to work, just so I could get to a 20 minute vet appointment, only to pick him up again at 5. Asking people (aka Tom) if he could pick me up from dog class at Petsmart because Rob had class on Tuesday evenings. Always asking the other person if they needed the car for anything before we made plans to go somewhere. Well, no more car sharing for us! This past weekend Rob bought a used 2010 Pontiac G6 and it has been great. Funny enough, I wasn't with Rob when he test drove the car and I hadn't even seen a picture of a G6 on the internet, let alone the actual car he was going to buy, before he bought it. Heck, Roxanne got to ride in the car before I did. I think I deserve some cool-wife points for letting him do his thing and not getting all involved and inquisitive over such a big purchase.
Last Thursday night I worked from 5-11pm, getting some training in before I started working on my own this week. Around 10pm I checked my phone because I knew Rob would be wondering where I was since I wasn't sure how late my training would go. I was pleasantly surprised to find texts from Rob saying my Dad was at our apartment. His flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Charleston that evening, so he got a hold of Rob and asked if he could stay at our place. I think Rob got to hang out with him longer than I did since I got home so late, but he did take me out to breakfast the next morning, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Tomorrow I'm flying to Harrisburg, PA to visit new Mama and Daddy Hagerman and the not yet 2 month old babe! I haven't seen Linds since my wedding, so it will be great to have some best friend time together, and of course I can't wait to hold little Savannah. Look how cute...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Oh the irony...
No more than 15 minutes after I took this picture she peed in the living room. I don't think she has had an accident in the house since starting the intermediate class, and on her graduation night she decides to take a pee break next to the couch while playing ball.
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