One Month Anniversary...

SO I am officially celebrating my "New Job" one-month anniversary :) It hardly seems like I've already been with them for a month but I have. I absolutely LOVE what I am doing which is such a wide variety that literally no two days have been the same and the variety is something that I tend to thrive on. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from the family on my job performance and it only fuels the fire within me to keep pushing myself and to keep on keeping on. I recently told my boss(es) "By the time I am through with you, you won't be able to live without me..." to which he replied "I think that we already can't live without you"!

AND more "official" news...I just got my time from the 5k on Saturday and I placed 188 out of about 300 runners (overall) and my gun time was 32:17 with a chip time of 31:57 to give me a pace of 10:19 min/mile. Like I said previously, I was just happy to finish under 33 minutes and to be able to run the entire time without walking. I really have only just started getting my body back to running so I am pleased with the progress made in as little as two weeks time.

Well it's going to be a very busy week with work into the weekend (planning/working an event) so I am off to get my beauty sleep.

Running to Beat da Blues...

Well I am happy to report that I accomplished both goals at this mornings 5k...I was able to run the entire 3.1 mile course withOUT walking AND i believe my time should be around 32 minutes (final results haven't been posted yet) so that was a good way to start the day. What I didn't realize was how cold it was going to be outside this morning and I really wasn't dressed warm enough. Mind you, I warmed up just fine while running but hanging around before the race was chilling. A guy that I used to work with and about 4 of his friends were running so I was able to meet up with them and it's just more enjoyable to do a race when you have others there to hang with before and those to cheer you on at the finish line. AND call me crazy, but from the race I met up with Jennifer and my sister Amy at Percy Warner Park for a little hike/stair climbing action....another 50 minutes of work-out activity that included climbing 135 stone stairs (yes, I counted them) TWICE. Some call me an overachiever and I think "crazy" might be a better adjective. All I know....hopefully, I'll be able to get out of bed in the morning. I've taken my drugs so hopefully a good nights sleep with help my muscles recover. Nighty Night!

Sleepy times...

How sad is it that it's 10:23 on a Friday night and I can barely keep my eyes open writing this? There is something to be said about getting older...I think that your body requires more sleep as your age increases. I mean I could NEVER stay up late on a "school" night and function properly the next day at work. Sadly, if I wasn't waiting for my sister to arrive from FL, I would already be fast asleep. Nevertheless, I thought I would write a little to wait up for her.

The past two days have been super busy at work...mostly I am helping my boss right now plan an event along with some campaigning for a non-profit organization and helping her get organized for a big trip this summer overseas. All very different and fun things to "work" on. Some days it hardly seems like work. Needless to say that I am still thoroughly enjoying my job.

Well like I previously predicted, I will not be winning this years March Madness Bracket. I still have a couple teams left and of course my overall winning team, North Carolina, is still in it but I have missed to many games in the tourney. It's still fun to watch the games and I love to cheer on the underdog ( GO DAVIDSON ! ). Monday is always a big day in sports (one clue: MLB)...that's right baseball fans....it's opening day and I am ready for hopefully another great season. GO CUBBIES!

AND tomorrow I am going to attempt to run in a 5k race called "Running to Beat the Blues" benefiting the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee. The race is at Centennial Park and should be a pretty flat course through the park. I've really only been run/walking the past 2 weeks so my personal goal for tomorrow is two fold: to finish in under 33 minutes (a slow 11 minute/mile pace) and to run the 3.1 miles withOUT walking. I will post my results tomorrow....

Elevator Conversation

At my last place of employment, I rarely took the elevator as our office was located on the 2nd floor. But now, since my office is on the 10th floor, the elevator (in my mind) is the only way to get to my office. I can't even tell you where the stairs are in this building. I come into the building from the alley so I start my ride in the basement. There are other companies in this building so when you are arriving in the morning and riding the elevator, you'll usually stop on the main floor and pick up others going up.
Yesterday morning, myself and another gentleman (we'll call him #1) started our ride from the basement. We stopped at the main floor to pick up another gentleman (#2). As soon as #2 came on, #1 clearly knew #2 and began thanking him for "covering for him the other day, etc, etc". #2, clearly not being a morning person from his beshelved appearance and tight grasp on the coffee cup, replied in a polite manner, "no problem, any time...". It was at this moment that #1 reached the 4th floor and exited the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, #2 looked at me and said "I have no idea who that was or what he was talking about"...and I couldn't help but giggle. I told #2 that it was too early to really carry on any conversation and the best response was to just grin and nod. By this time we reached the 8th floor and #2 exited in the most friendly manner and wished me a good day.

I would have never thought that riding the elevator could be so much fun....

Easter Sunday

I had a lovely Easter weekend being at home with my family. Sunday morning we went to church where I grew up and where my parents still attend. After church we took some family photos:

The Huber Family (minus Amy who lives in FL)

Crazy Amy and Me

My sister Holly

My niece Elaysha

Our silly faces pose :)

After our annual Easter photo session, we headed over to my Grandparents house for a delicious Easter lunch complete with Ham, Chicken and all the necessary starches (ie. green beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, etc. etc.) YUMMY! And what's a lunch without dessert? My grandmother made her infamous bunny cake and bunny sugar cookies. After lunch we visited with aunts and uncles and watched a little March Madness. It even snowed briefly outside....CRAZY! I am so ready for spring time weather and OVER this cold weather. Amy and I headed back to TN around 5 pm but we stopped by my sisters new house really quick. It's the perfect home and I am so happy for them. I am sure that the next time I'm home they will be all settled in.

Home for the Easter Holiday...

Friday afternoon my friend Crazy Amy and I drove to my hometown of Evansville, Indiana to celebrate the Easter weekend with my family. I was very excited to be coming home for the weekend and it's always fun to show my friends the town that I grew up in. Once we arrived in town, we were greeted by my dad and Elaysha and then drove over to see Holly's new home (she just closed on her house on Wednesday). It's the perfect little "cottage" style home and I am very excited for her and Elaysha. Once my mom and Holly got off work we all headed to my favorite local Mexican restaurant, Hacienda, for dinner. It was soooo delicious and splurging on the fried ice cream with chocolate sauce but a big smile on my face :) Amy, Elaysha and myself headed straight from dinner to the $2.00 theater to see the 7 o'clock showing of "Enchanted". It was such a cute movie...I puffy heart Patrick Dempsey...he truly is McDreamy! It was very kid friendly and had cute music and good humor....I think I would like to own this movie. We got home around 9 pm and of course Elaysha was happy to entertain us both and that meant watching High School Musical 2 (my neice is a bit obsessed with HSM these days...kind of like how I was about NKOTB...but not as obsessed as I was...ANYWHO.

I got up early this morning because I had much needed hair appointment with Julie and left Amy to sleep in at the house. I LOVE my hairdresser her as she always does a great job and even though my Nashville friends encourage me to find someone in Nashville, I just can't bring myself to part ways from Julie. It's not like I make a 2.5 hour trip just to get my hair done...my family lives here too! I got back home around 11:15 to find that my mom was feeling under the weather (sad times) so she was finishing up the groceries and heading to bed. Amy and I then met my friend Tammy (who was also in town from Chicago for the Easter weekend) for lunch at a new Irish pub downtown called Ri Ra. It had a great atmosphere and delicious food. I had not seen Tammy since Christmas so it was great to catch up with her.

Me and Tammy

Crazy Amy and Me

There is not much to do in this town especially on a cold and dreary day like today, so we went to the mall. It was really crowded but the sales were super duper good. For Example, at Old Navy, I found a cute pair of wide leg khaki pants for $8.49 and a cute short sleeve sweater vest/jacket for $5.39 :) I love shopping clearance sales! We literally shopped till we dropped . We swung by my parents house and picked Elaysha and took her to see "Horton Hears a Who". What a cute movie and it's so fun to watch a movie through a kid's eyes/perspective. Elaysha's laughter and giggles are so contagious. As soon as the movie was over we met my Dad and sister at Shyler's for dinner and then came home. Amy and I still had a little bit of energy so we went to Casino Aztar downtown for just a little while.

This day flew by so fast....just now as I am writing this I realized that this is the first time all day that I have actually not been on the go. Whew...kind of makes me sleepy just thinking about it all but it was the perfect day back home and I am so glad that I have Amy to share it with.

Good Friday & March Madness

Yeah for another weekend! I am really excited to be heading back to Indiana this afternoon and to see all of my family. And my friend, Crazy Amy is accompanying me home for the Easter weekend...not that the booming metropolis of Evansville holds anything super exciting to share but it will be fun to show her where I come from. My bags are mostly packed and I am working this morning at the home office getting some things finished before the family returns on Monday. Even though they have been gone all week, I have gotten alot accomplished in their absence and I'm blown away how much there is to do. I am preparing myself for a busy busy week next week.

I am not for sure how many of you are in to sports, but March Madness started yesterday. Now, I don't follow college basketball during regular season, but I do love the playoffs. And once again, I am participating in a little bracket competition with my fellow TMP co-workers. Last year, I actually won the whole thing and walked away with $40 and more importantly the satisfaction of knowing that I beat out all the boys. This year, I do not expect to repeat. When I was filling out my bracket on Monday night, it felt much harder than last years selection and when I looked at the completed product, I did not feel confident at all. I studied it for a while to see if I wanted to make changes but I didn't feel good about that either so I left it alone. I have already lost 4 games but thankful all of my Sweet Sixteen contenders are still in it. Well see how I fair after this weekend.

Rain Rain..Go Away...

Spring is almost here and I know that they say "April showers bring May flowers" but it's only March. I am sure that I should be thankful for the rain as we probably need it but it's so dreary outside and it just makes me feel kind of dreary. I am really ready for this spring season. I noticed a Robin outside yesterday morning and it was just another reminder that a new season is almost here. Yippee!

This week is going good thus far and I'm still having productive days despite the family being out of town. Trust me, I have plenty of stuff to keep me busy. It's been nice to be "casual" and work out of their home office. I have mostly been building their database so I have been using several errands to break up my day instead of sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. It's so nice to have a job with flexibility. I have also been able to make it to the gym the past two days. Monday night was spin class followed by some free weights and then last night, I met up with Jen after work and we endured the windy resistance outside and walked/jogged for about 30 minutes and then did some more free weights. Needless to say, I am brutally reminded how out of shape I am by the soreness that I feel this morning. Ugh! I am going to do my best to push through and workout again tonight....we'll see if that actually happens.

I am looking forward to going home this weekend and hanging out with friends and family. It's been over 2 months since I've been back to Indiana and I miss my family. Of course they came to Nashville a month ago but I was so sick with the flu that I only saw them for about an hour and that seems like a blur really. So I'm excited to see everyone and I'm counting down the days....

Another busy week...

Whew....I knew that this new job would keep me plenty busy. I have already been working for them for 2 full weeks and I must say that the days have flown by. Last week I spent almost every day in my downtown office. The family left for their Florida home at the end of the day on Thursday so this week I will switch gears and work from their home office everyday. I love the flexibility of this job.

So besides work this week, I did manage to go to a spinning class on Monday but never made it back to the gym :( BUT this week will be different as I'm long overdue to getting my rear in gear and getting back in shape. I can come up with a million excuses as to why I let myself go but there is no need....just know that tomorrow starts a new day and I will be in the gym at least 3 days this week...NO EXCUSES!

On Tuesday night I went with my friend Amy to Kairos again. The teaching was excellent but I have to say that the worship didn't seem at authentic as it was the first time I attended. It felt rather "show-y" and I just felt myself struggle to enter into a place of worship. On Wednesday night, I attended a showcase at the Rutledge of a wanna-be country artist. I met up with Amy there because one of her friends from California was playing guitar for this artists showcase. Amy's friend, Jefferson, was a super fun, cool guy. The artist he was playing for....well...my mother always told me if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all...so I won't say anything. All I will say, is that if you are trying to do the country music thing in the capital city of the country music you better bring your A game. Thursday night brought our little tradition of watching LOST on the big screen and enjoying scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. Friday night was the last night of our "When World Collides" study. We have met over the past 9 weeks so I am going to miss seeing everyone on a weekly basis BUT I am looking forward to having my Friday nights open again.

It's been a rather relaxing weekend though. After moving at warp speed during the week and being rather social, it's nice to not have much planned on the weekend. This helps me to get in some "alone" time and regroup for another fun week.

My Big Girl Office

Every morning I keep pinching myself at the disbelief that I actually have a real office. I have a door and a window that looks out over downtown Nashville. This week I will be working from the office everyday with exceptions of leaving for a meeting here or there. Since I've been able to get it mostly setup and organized in the past two days I thought I would take pictures and post them for you all to see. I can't help but be EXCITED about having a "Big Girl" office....

The view from my office door

My fancy "empty" filing cabinet and pictures of my family and friends.

The view from behind my desk.

Southern Snow

Really these two words should never be used in the same sentence. Yes, we had snow in the south on Friday night. This snow storm (that is 3-5 inches in the south) began on Friday night while we were in Bible study and Cathryn and I had the pleasure of driving home in it. Read her snowy blog for all the details.

And in case you were wondering where one can buy snow sleds and shovels in the south, try Ace Hardware in Belle Meade :)

I'm Baaack.....

I've been meaning to write all week long and yet I realized that it's been a week today since I last posted anything. Whew....this past week has FLOWN by. Let's see...

I have a complete week of my new job under my belt and it's been BUSY but fantastic. I can't believe how much we have already accomplished and trust me, this is just the beginning...there is LOTS to do. It really is a perfect fit for my personality. Everyday I wake up and feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to serve this family and call it my "job". Some of you have asked me what it is exactly that I do? Well, it's really a little bit of everything...run errands, work on event planning stuff, networking for my boss, administrative duties and that's just the what I did last week. One of my first "assignments" was working on a guest list. The guest list was for a fashion show that a local magazine hosted to benefit ten Nashville non-profit organizations (and yes, I got to attend). It was a fun event, wonderful people and fabulous fashion. After watching years of "Project Runway", I can appreciate the details and attention that it requires to make a garment and to see that craftsmanship in person was amazing. And the organization that my boss works with won a monetary donation for having the highest attendance :) And this is what I now call "work"...I can already tell you with a work schedule that now varies from day to day, good time management is going to be critical. And more importantly, I'm going to have to find the balance with work and personal time.

My weekend has been pretty low key and relaxing. Just what I needed after a busy first week of the new job. Friday night was my Bible study group and then a fun drive home in the "big" snow (3 inches). And yes, it took me about an hour and a half to drive 30 miles (people in the south don't drive well in snow). Saturday was a day of total vegetation and then a "babysitting" gig like no other. It was actually a teamed babysitting gig and once my friend Cathryn blogs about it, I'll give you the link to read about it. It's sure to be quite hilarious...I haven't quite the words...just stay tuned to read all about it. Today was church and then a church planning meeting and with the time change, it was after 5 by the time I got home. Whew! Just enough time to come home, eat dinner and get everything together for another work week. It's past my bedtime as I'm actually going in "early" to my office downtown tomorrow. Nighty Night...

Sunny Sunday

We woke up to another day of beautiful blue skies and plenty of sunshine on Sunday...such a nice change from last weeks snow/icy rain showers. Days of weather like this weekend definitely give me "spring fever". Holly went with me to Sunday School before heading back to IN. It really was great to have her in town this weekend even though our time spent together went by way too fast. After church, Amy, Tracy and myself went to eat lunch at McCreary's Pub in downtown Franklin....their food is always so tasty! I really had hoped to head home and get some things accomplished before starting my first full day of work on Monday but to no avail, I ended up staying in Franklin and Amy, myself and Patrick ventured out to check out Arrington Vineyards. It was the perfect afternoon to sit outside in the company of friends and enjoy a great bottle of wine and great conversations. Here are a couple pictures from the afternoon:

Amy & Patrick & Terah

A cool shot of the wall logo inside the winery

The view from our table, outside on the patio

Another group shot...thanks to Patrick's long arm...

Obviously, we ended up spending all afternoon there and watching the beautiful sunset. Not how I had originally planned to spend my afternoon but sometimes those spontaneous moments in life are just what you needed. Needless to say, by the time I got home and talked to my family and made dinner it was close to 8 o'clock and my ambition to do things at home dwindled fast. It was such a good weekend.

Sister Saturday

So on Saturday, my sister Holly came down to visit me and also deliver Girl Scout cookies (yummy). She had some things to do early on Saturday morning so it allowed me the opportunity to sleep in and also do some cleaning around the house. When she got here, myself and Jen and Holly ventured to Hickory Hollow Mall to check out a store called Steve & Barry's. This store carries Sarah Jessica Parker's collection "Bitten" but sadly I was disappointed by the lack of apparel not only from her collection but from the store overall. From there, we headed to Green Hills to deliver cookies to Caron and of course, I can't go into Pottery Barn Kids without picking up something for Elaysha. Since we were in the area, we decided to go see the matinee of "The Other Boleyn Girl". Obviously it's a historical account but it's rather depressing. And what's the best thing to do when you are depressed...EAT! So we went to Nashville West and ate at Red Robin. Since it's a new establishment on the west side and it was Saturday night we had to wait about 30 minutes but once we got seated the food did not disappoint. Jen was a trooper to spend the day with us despite the fact that she was battling flu-like symptoms. AND I had a great day getting to hang out with Holly!