Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Day 6- 8/7/2012

Well this was a fairly boring day. I did score a 9' tilting deck umbrella for just $40- can't beat that deal! Other than that, spent an hour at the pool, went to the Community Center and lifted weights, and then went to look at an above-ground swimming pool that a lady was selling for a steal.

We've decided against it though- too much uncertainty right now and we have no clue how much money would need to go into it to get it up and running.

So sorry to be so boring, but hey, think I'm ok with that!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Days 4 & 5- 8/5/2012 & 8/6/2012

Well Sunday the 4th was a total bust- I didn't do anything!  I mean it, I truly sat around all day long watching tv and reading. So didn't think that deserved its own post.

I did make a yummy and fairly healthy dinner...


and here is the link to the actual recipe. http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/10/healthy-meals-monday-chicken-and-black.html

So Monday was actually a productive day. I had to go get a filling, which is like my 4th one in life, so that kinda sucked. But the rest of the day was taken up with laundry, some grocery shopping (discovered Aldi and how much I could be saving on my grocery bill!), revamped my resume, applied for a great job at Sprint, and topped off the evening with a Jazzercise class. Yep, I jazz-hands and grapevine with the best of 'em. Don't knock it- that hour long class results in approximately 450 calories being burned.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Day 3- 8/4/2012

Today was just like any Saturday, employed or not. So basically just running errands and grocery shopping. I did get to go with my sis and Mr Aiden for the momentus occasion of picking out his backpack and lunchbox to start kindergarten in a few weeks. Wow that brought back memories- though back then it was picking out your Trapper Keeper and folders. We didn't do backpacks back then, wonder why?  The sister almost started tearing up as Mr A proudly walked through Target with his backpack on his back and lunchbox swinging in his hand.



While I was out and about, the hubster was at home bathing and giving the schnauzer babes haircuts....don't they look pretty darn cute with their new "do"?


I also accomplished the blasted kettlebell working before dinner.... I'll be sore for a minimum of 2 days thank you very much. But you can't beat 20 minutes of time and 270 calories burned. I also had a somewhat healthy dinner planned- veggie skillet lasagna.  However I failed to realize I only had 2 lasagna noodles left in the box so I substituted whole wheat penne and a ton of other veggies including yellow squash, green zucchini, & red pepper. Here is the original recipe pic- looks pretty good huh?


Here is the link to the recipe if you are interested. http://nutritionfor.us/2012/02/eat-skinny-be-skinny-easy-peasy-skillet-lasagna/


Oh, big news though- I got the unemployment paperwork from the State of Missouri (which I figured would take weeks) and I owe the state an apology! I applied Wednesday afternoon and got the determination paperwork in today's mail- not too shabby. So I guess I will start getting payments in the next week or so- woo hoo! Nothing like being excited about joining the ranks of those on government assistance!  And my wonderful sister pointed out that I just needed to get a new tattoo and some fake nails to go along with my new cell phone... you know, those folks on government assistance that seem to be able to afford everything they 'want' but not what they 'need'.  And the new cell phone wasn't by choice- the "old employer" had graciously provided/paid for a cell phone for 13 years- oh the little things you take for granted!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Day 2- 8/3/2012

Lordy, still no sleeping in- I was up earlier today than a normal work day! But all for a good reason- I was going to the zoo with my sister, nephew Aiden, and the hubster joined too. We had heard that the animals were much more active before noon and with the zoo opening at 8am I was up bright and early. And it was a great day- I got to spend the morning with this little cutie (oh and Aiden the nephew too!) haha.

That is 950lbs of pure polar bear beef cake baby! His name is Nikita and he's 5 1/2 years old. He kept pushing off the glass with those ginormous rear feet and doing a back dive into the water. Over and over and over again. Watching him swim in his 65 degree pool somehow made those sweat rivers down the middle of my back a little more tolerable.

So Nikita was definitely the highlight, along with 3 Langurs that were chasing each other all over their cage. I swear to god they nearly fly! They are some kind of monkey that completely defies gravity. Never did make it to the Australia part of the zoo- just too darn pooped and the 5 year old was not on his best behavior at this point.

So after 4 hours of sticky sweaty fun at the zoo today I was ready for a shower and a nap. Yep, you read that correctly- I napped at 2pm on Friday! Haha, this unemployment thing could be an okay deal! I even paused to think about what the poor lone marketing soul was doing at the "old job" on a Friday afternoon.... but then I rolled over and started snoozing. Sorry Emily!

We wrapped up the evening with our regular visit to Salsa Grill mexican restaurant (yeah, every Friday night! Shoot me already!) And now just watching the Olympics. Way to go Michael Phelps on your 21st olympic medal- 17 of those being gold! So I'd say that I'm getting the hang of being unemployed and doing all those things during the day that only stay-at-home-mommies get to do. What's on the agenda for next week... surely there is an unemployed things-to-do-about-town handbook!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Day 1- 8/2/2012

Day one of unemployment.... hmmm, sort of felt like the first day of any vacation. I tried to sleep in but not happening- woke up right at the same time I normally would have. We did have the benefit of clouds and showers this morning so I did lay around until finally getting up and making coffee at 8:30am. Wow, really living it up my first day of no work!

Went with the hubster to see the 11:40am showing of Batman. All of 8 people in the theater. I felt like I was skipping school or playing hookie from work. It just felt wrong to be at a movie theater eating popcorn at 11:40 on a work day! I sat there contemplating whether the other couples were on vacation from their jobs, independently wealthy, or are they unemployed just like me? Hmmm, the things you ponder before a movie starts. Great movie, by the way, and I'm not a huge fan of this Batman trilogy. The ending rocked!

The rest of the day wrapped up with a haircut appointment, dinner with sister and her family, and now I've got a fairly healthy version of peach cobbler in the oven.

So do I consider this first day of unemployment/self-granted vacation a success? I honestly don't know. I didn't feel free. At certain times I felt anxious and nervous. And as the evening has gone on, more and more cranky (thus the reason I have dessert in the oven.) Maybe I'll just say this day was a mixed bag and see what tomorrow brings.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Day 0- 8/1/2012

Well today was D-Day, or maybe L-Day for last day, layoff day, liberation day? All that was left to do was go into the office, turn in my stuff (laptop, security FOB, office key, company credit card, and badge) and say my final goodbyes. I didn't know how I was going to feel as I was driving into the office. I was wondering if I should have brought tissues in case I was a bawling mess as I drove home. Or should I have downloaded Kool & The Gang's Celebration? What was going through my head as I got off the highway and took the backway into the office was "lordy I'm not going to miss this drive and this stupid winding street and it's stupid 25mph speed limit and these people that leave their dog tied up outside all the time and that damn pothole which I swear has been there for 13 years..." Oh you get the picture. So I felt like my attitude was one of positivity (real word? not sure) and looking on the bright side so I took that as a good sign.

It was bittersweet. It was sad. It was free-ing!

So the first to-do on the list was to get online and file my unemployment claim. Ummm, you'd think this would be a fairly straightforward and self-explanatory process. Yeah, not the case. Now I'm not saying that I'm the smartest ball in the pit but I really do feel sorry for someone trying to navigate this process who is not operating on as many brain cells as me. I first spent 5 minutes completing the online application for the state of KS. After getting to the final page and hitting Submit, I was informed that I could not file online due to some of my answers and must do it via phone. Okay doke, here we go entering 1 for Yes and 9 for No (tricky of them huh?) After a good 20 minutes of this I was told to wait to speak to a Claim Representative. Another 5 minutes and I got to speak to Amy, a hard-working gal that did not suffer fools (or really anyone else) gladly. She tells me that since all of my wages were earned in the state of Missouri that I did not qualify for Kansas unemployment. As I paused in stunned silence, letting it sink in that a good 30 minutes had just been wasted, I come up with this brilliant gem..."well my HR department said I could since I live in Kansas!" Amy immediately apologized and said my claim would be moved to the top of the processing list. NOT! What she said was "No." Oh Amy of little words, gotta love you. I'll give her this, she did offer to give me Missouri's phone #.

Onto Missouri's unemployment website. I filled out all of the boxes, hit Submit, and was directed to a page that gives me a confidence level of 50/50 on whether my claim went through. Not once was I asked to say how long I'd been with my employer. Or how much they paid me. Just that I would receive a determination letter in the mail. Want to take dibs on how long this is going to take?!

So that is day 0, my last day of work with the company I've been with for 13 years. These last 2 weeks since getting the "your job is eliminated" news has been like a divorce or death. I grieved and cried. I acted like a 3 year old and threw THIS ISN'T FAIR temper tantrums. I got angry. I felt relief. I felt panic. And as of right now, I feel happy....and unemployed.

The plan is to take the month of August off and just relax. Wrap my head around the fact that I have to stop saying "we" when talking about my previous employer. Of course I'll keep my eyes open for great opportunities and take advantage of the resume writing services provided in my severance package. But for the most part I'll be spending the next several weeks at the pool, maybe working out daily, and possibly volunteering to walk dogs at the neighborhood shelter. Tune in, if you'd like, to see how I'm handling life after layoff and take bets on how long a family of 2 adults and 2 dogs can live off unemployment and severance pay!