White Hot Chocolate

I have found Tim's replacement - White Hot Chocolate! FRIGGIN' YUM! I can't seem to get enough of it.
Tonight I cooked some very yummy spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread with mozzarella cheese and a salad. It was sooo good!! I did some laundry tonight. I hate laundry, I hate the laundrymat and I hate waiting for it to finish! I wish I was rich and never had to wear the same outfit twice. I'd just donate my clothes to charity after wearing once. Wishful thinking. I'd settle for having my own washer and dryer.
My new scrap space is treating me very well! Once and while I just go in the bedroom and look at my little corner, smile, and walk out. =o) And it has been so nice to scrap a little and not have to worry about picking it all up.
So, get me a white hot chocolate, a washer and dryer and a space to scrap and I'll be the happiest girl in the world!

I be scrappin'

I went to Wal-Mart today and picked me up some of those there sterlite drawers! =o) I think I need to go back and get one more small one. And I need to get something to hold my pens in. BUT I'm LOVING my space! Tim helped me organize everything. I worked on a couple of pages tonight and it was so easy. The drawers on the left I just roll underneath the table when I'm done (Idea submitted by Nicole), the drawers on the table have stickers, rub ons and some little stuff. And on the top right is my paper, bottom right is scrapbooks and some more stickers in the sterlite box. I'm very happy to have a little set up for my stuff. I be scrappin' all the time!

My Beginning!

Tim and I were talking tonight about rearranging the bedroom so I could have a little scrap space! I said we could work on it this weekend and we'll run out and pick up some cheap storage stuff. Well, he decided we should rearrange the bedroom tonight! So we did. I think it's going to be so great! I'm very excited. I couldn't believe how quickly it all came together. I expected a little bit of arguing about where this or that should go, but we just were like "okay, here, okay let's do this". It's not the greatest set up or the most "beautiful", but it's a start - my beginning!This weekend I'll do some shopping and pick up a few new things so I will no longer have to work out of a bag! I did some searching online for storage ideas and I'm finding storage can get pretty expensive!! I found this basic wood cubby thing for like $700!! Umm... No! I will probably take a full day this weekend just to shop for some kind of storage thing. I can get really picky when I'm looking for something specific! This statement alone means Tim will probably not join me in my search! =o) Now that I have space for supplies it'll give me a chance to buy more stuff!!! YAY* Before I just bought a few things at a time or as I needed them. Now I'll be able to buy COOL STUFF! Like stamps and ink! I can expand my paper supply and get some more nic-nac's. And no more spreading stuff out on the floor!

Home Sick

Yuck! I feel like poop today. I went into work at 7:30 to get a closing done and planned on leaving right after. Well, someone else in the department is sick, another was at home with his daughter who is sick and came in at 9:30, another person had to go to Millinocket to deal with a foreclosed property. Not a good day in the Mortgage Dept.!
My Patriots lost last night!!! I don't even know what to say about the game. They were winning 21-6 at the half and BOOM the 2nd half was like a whole new game! The Colts definitely did some "re-grouping" in the locker room. I do think Manning deserves to go to the Super Bowl and I will cheer for them on the 4th, but I still wanted my Patriots to win! That's all I have to say about that.

What to do next, watch a movie, take a nap or blow my nose? =/

MMB Merger

This morning Merrill Bank announced it is merging with Chittenden Corporation. A large company based out of Vermont. Chittenden owns 5 other banks, Merrill will make it 6. We will keep our name, our logo and decision making power. BUT, most operation departments will become centralized in Vermont. This is me. My job will probably either disappear entirely or change SIGNIFICANTLY. All loans will be processed in Vermont (with the exception of loans we call "portfolio loans" that will stay within Merrill Bank, these loans total about 6 per month!). Today turned out to be very unproductive. Most of us spent the day talking about the merger and what it could mean for us. There will be more departments opening up and current areas will be expanding. We have 2 more branches opening up that will need to be staffed - so jobs will be available once the merger is final. The actual merge will take until about June, but we will not begin changing our functions right away. I'm looking at the end of the year before my job could actually change. The merge could open up many new doors for me. As most of you know from past posts I am not too excited about staying a processor forever. Hopefully some really good jobs will be available and HOPEFULLY I'll get an opportunity to apply for one of them. It also will give me an opportunity to relocate. Like I said earlier Chittenden is based out of Vermont, they have many company's within 4 different states. Some of you may have heard of Maine Banking & Trust. They are owned by Chittenden - which if you know of this Bank you may not have known about Chittenden because they are not advertised as a subsidiary company. Merrill Bank's top competitors are Bank of America, Bangor Savings & TD Banknorth (to name a few). Merrill Bank is significantly smaller than these company's, but still competes with the best of them. NOW, Merrill Bank WILL end up on top and that is very exciting for Senior Management, since I'm sure they'll reap the benefits from that!
It's all a little shocking since Merrill Bank has worked so hard to stay a competitive, but small local bank. I think they did it for good reasons - it'll increase there loan capabilities and they won't need to deal with the compliance and regulatory side of things. (which can be a very unfriendly side - for instance we set aside $400,000 in our budget for this stuff).
As time goes on we'll start to learn more about the merger. There's a lot of unanswered questions for all of us - even senior management. As the time gets closer to the merger and the end of the year we'll start to find out more and more. I just hope this is an opening I've been looking for! I'm excited to see what it brings my way.

Holy Damn Cold!

We complain we have no snow, but it seems we forget with the snow comes the COLD! And with the cold comes the freakin' BRRRRR!!! I hate it! Our apartment is so drafty it's ridiculous. I am so happy we do not pay for heat. It kicks on constantly and it's not like we have it really high or anything. The window in the living room leaks so much air! Just sitting on the couch you can feel the draft. okay, Enough about the cold ...
Tonight Karen and I are going to the gym. As much as I don't want to go back out into the cold, I will for the sake of the "booty". =o) Okay, so my butt isn't big, but it sounded funny!!
I finally got my photos in from New Years. It took like 6 business days! They say 3-5! I was beginning to think they were lost or something. So, tonight I might scrap a little bit. I still have some of my stuff at Colleen's, but I'm not really worried about it. I got enough stuff here I can use.
I think I'm going to start my car to warm it up a little bit before I leave. Or I'll use Tim's since he just got back and his will already be warm! =o) He has an electric starter, I'm so jealous!

mmmm SNOW!

Clearly I have no intentions of going ANYWHERE today!!

I probably won't even venture outside. At the same time I'm very happy we are getting snow! I love these days when you can just sit inside and do nothing but work on my hobbies! =o) Tim is gone to work so it has been very quiet around here. I pulled out a cross stitch project I started a long time ago. At some point I'll begin the painful process of spreading my scrappin' stuff across the floor! I've got the heat jacked so it is nice and toasty in here - mmm - I'm lovin' it!

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP!

We beat the Chargers! Now, is it possible to beat the Colts? God, I hope so!!!

Finally some snow!!! I'm so happy tomorrow we're getting a real storm! Although we have to pay $10 a snow storm for our driveway to be shoveled. I just hope she doesn't decide to clear the driveway more then once during this storm and think she needs to be paid twice! Tim has to work tomorrow and I don't. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll probably go to the gym in the morning. Maybe do a little scrapping - although I left most of my photos at Colleen's today! And she gave me some new stuff. Well, it's new to me! =o) Colleen gave me some new ideas to use with my scrapping. I get so overwhelmed when I scrap at her house because she has so much stuff, I just don't know what to use next! She has a room of stuff when I have a bag of stuff haha! Which brings me back to me needing a scrapbook space. I'll probably purchase some kind of armoir in the near future, but I want to have a good place for it. I'm so tired of taking all my stuff out, laying it on the floor around ME, having to get up every 10 minutes because my back hurts from leaning over, then having to pick it all back up again. I'll either re-arrange the bedroom (which I think could be possible) or there is a spot in the living room I could keep it. I prefer not to have it in the living room because if I leave stuff out then it looks like a mess. We'll see. Tim's good at coming up with some new organizing ideas - he'll help me!!!

Laundry, Movies, Groceries

Today was a somewhat busy day or it felt like it anyway. We woke up late - really late!!! We went to the laundry mat to do my laundry which took up 2 triple washers!!! (it included our sheets, but still!!) I came home for a little while then took off to the movies with Chelsea (a girl I work with). We saw Dreamgirls - not a great movie - it was just okay. And I'm so tired of movies being over 2 hours long!! There are very few movies that are just normal 1 hour and 15 minutes long. Doesn't that sound like a good amount of time for a movie? (I think I've been watching too much Seinfeld - with all these pointless thoughts coming out). We just got back from grocery shopping. I started buying the weekend paper to cut coupons and I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. Because now I cut coupons for things I wouldn't normally buy, but because I have a coupon I get them. All of these things tend to be products that are brand name EXPENSIVE stuff. So even after the coupon I'm still looking at an expensive item. Whatever! Food is just over priced, RIDICULOUS!
Tomorrow is scrapbook day with Colleen! She's got some new goodies for us to play with - can't wait! And can't forget the Patriots play tomorrow!! A MUST SEE!! We're going to watch VanHelsing now. Who knows what this will be like!

Catch up!

Well, not a lot has been going on these past few days. I had taken an extended break from the gym (which I have convinced myself the holiday was just too stressful and I had no time to go to the gym), but I'm back in action now which feels good! Things are the same around here. Tim's doing a great job with the dishes! I almost secretly started to feel guilty, but didn't let it get very far. =o)

Tim still shoots me on a regular basis with his Nerf Gun!

The other night Tim and I went out with Karen and her boyfriend Jason. Karen got a $100 gift certificate to Olive Garden from her work. So she took us out to dinner! Free Olive Garden, can't beat it! We had a good time. Jason is a little camera shy, but I finally squeezed out a good photo of the two of them.

Tim and I sent back his guitar case because it was cracked in 3 places and it wouldn't lock without a struggle. It finally came in yesterday, but the case is "lockable" and they forgot to include the key. So Tim is going to call them again to get a key! I've started my Christmas scrapbook and it's coming along fairly well. I just order some more photos from New Years and a couple of random things. Tim has felt bad lately because I don't have a place for any of my scrap stuff. I keep it in a bag Colleen gave me - which is full so half the stuff is on the floor beside the bag. Tim tried to move around the living room some so I could at least set up a table and maybe buy some little plastic drawers for my stuff. I told him not to worry about, but it's sweet that he cares so much! Since he has a place for all his music stuff I suppose it would only be fair that I have a place for my Scrapping stuff.

Well, it's movie time. We got Crash from Netflix (it's a Tim pick). =o)

PATS SPANK JETS!!!

Patriot's win against the Jets - 37 to 16! Next week we play the Chargers, 4:30 Sunday, CAN NOT WAIT! You better be ready Rick - I'll be at your place whoopin' it up!!! =o)

Boys

First they shoot nerf guns, than they jam out for a bit, smoke a cigarette and top it off with video games. Nothing else could be "more funner" .



An uneventful day it was. (Yoda language) Tim and I went to Bullmoose and he got a couple of new records and I bought XMen I. I got XMen II for Christmas and now I just need the III one. My next collection will be the Star Wars movies. LOVE'M! After Bullmoose we went to Target where I stood in the women's section for at least 30 minutes to just say "I don't want to shop anymore" and we left! Tim made me realize how awful I am at cordinating my clothes. I got frustrated to say the least! I still have some gift card money so I think I'll try and go shopping tomorrow by myself or with Karen.

Patriots play tomorrow - PLAYOFFS BABY! hahaha*

Better

So, I'm thinking it was the whole holiday/vacation/jealous of Colleen's stay-at-home-mom life (haha) that I was getting all worked up about my job. And, I was probably just having a bad day! I know I won't stay at MMB forever, but I'm okay for now. I just got my year end raise and the department needs me. I'm the expert in my field within the entire bank - Sad I know!!! And Tim said he'd support me if he could - so my next step is to figure out a way Tim can support me! haha BUT, I will not back down from my desire to scrap forever!!! =o) And if I had $500,000 sitting in my bank account than I'd start a scrap store with Colleen any day!

work = yuck

So - I'm feeling like I don't like my job still. It's a good job with room to grow blah blah. But the place I would move up to is a Loan Officer position - not interested! I'm always stressed out at work because if isn't one crisis I'm dealing with than it's a last minute closing that gets added to the calendar. It's hard being the only processor (we have a girl in training, but it's like a 6-9 month learning curve, she's into her 2 month!). The pressure is enormous because if I make a mistake it could potentially ruin the entire loan! HONESTLY! The borrower can withdraw their loan if they choose at anytime. I think our department has basic organization, but overall we don't have a sold foundation to work from and to add more "organization ideas" to the mix does NOT help me. I'm not a leader, it's not in me to be a leader so I can't stand up and just make the "organization ideas" flow together. Sometimes I just don't know what my boss and others expect from me. I don't feel like I can handle the stress and the pressure anymore. I should probably talk to my boss about my unhappiness with my job, but I don't really have my thoughts straight. I don't want to just walk into her office and just poop out a bunch of stuff that doesn't make sense. And I don't want it to sound like I'm just being a baby. That's the other thing. Most decent paying jobs are moderate to high stress. What the hell would I do with myself if I didn't work at MMB or for that matter in a moderate to high stress job? I have a 4 year degree in paralegal studies - which would be a HIGH STRESS JOB - I don't want to do something that requires no education. I just don't know! Maybe from all these holidays and vacation time I'm just getting out of the work groove. We'll see where the end of January takes me. There is also the possibility of staying with MMB, but moving to a new department. I just don't know what other kinds of openings I would be interested in. Maybe all jobs will be like this, after about a year and half to two years I just get sick of it and want to get done. MMB is my first full time job and have been there since June 2005. Before, I was a student and just worked part time. I considered going back to school because I loved it so much, but I have nothing to go back for. I'd just be making something up for the sake of staying out of work ( and live off of student loan money). =) I also think I couldn't possibly leave my position now because the department would truly be in so much trouble. Nobody knows how to close a loan. My boss could possibly pull it off, but she doesn't have the time and she definitely doesn't have the time to train the new girl!!!
My dream is to just scrap forever. I love scrapbooking! Since I got my new camera for Christmas I just think about scrapping all the time! Like I could make a living on scrapbooking - my "skills" are not that developed and I don't know enough people to even begin trying to get "the word" out about scrapping for others. I guess it's a dream! =o) I just enjoy the whole process of picking out the stuff, getting paper, sorting through photos and coming up with page layouts. I looked a little bit into Creative Memories, but it doesn't appear to be much of a money maker - like to the point of not even bringing home $10,000 a year unless you have people underneath you. And I'd probably just beg Colleen and Nicole to have yet another party because they're the only scrapper's I know! Am I being ridiculous? Someone just tell me I'm being ridiculous. Alright, I'm done thinking about it for now - I need a tootsie roll .... or 5!

New Years Eve!

His exact words after he saw this photo " I do look good in that hat, don't I"?

Tim and Kristie - Both appear to be having a good time. They have their head gear on and big smiles on their faces. Don't let the smiles fool you, the pair soon turned into fierce rivals when an important game of darts began!

Rick - my infamous partner in the game of darts - he was the boy in the "only boy/girl team". Here you see him hitting on scooter the cat. He had his fair share to drink and the lack of head gear caused some dart focus problems.

Colleen - NOT intoxicated in this photo, just happy to have her very own head gear! If you could close out the wall in a game of darts than Colleen is the girl to have on your team!

We had a good time New Years Eve! Darts was the very popular game of the evening. Tim and Jerry were a very good team. Rick and I were so close! I have to say I held my own despite the fact I haven't really played a real game of darts before - I used to just throw them for fun. The night was ended by some quarter jumpin' and a "oh, look it's 12:02". I brought home my head gear and a noise maker, but for what purpose I'm not sure!! It'll probably sit around for awhile than get thrown away after I realize I have NO use for it! Julie did a "tea" reading. Where you make a cup of tea, drink a little bit of it than open the tea bag so all the little grains are in the cup. Dump out the tea in the sink and Julie reads the left over grains in the cup. My reading was funny and oddly enough it was some what on target.